Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate and cherry is one of those classic combinations that is just never the wrong choice. And using them together in cookies is a great excuse to use one of my favorite secret ingredients – almond extract! The combination of the tart cherries, fragrant almond, and rich chocolate will keep you and your guests always reaching for one more of these cherry chocolate chip cookies.

This post contains affiliate links, which means I will earn a commission if you click through and buy something, at no additional cost to you! Learn More.

What You Need to Get Started

You can easily find all of the ingredients for these cherry chocolate chip cookies at your grocery store. If you want to use curbside pick-up or home delivery, check out Instacart to shop online from your favorite local grocery store.

• Fridge: Butter, Eggs
• Pantry: Brown sugar, Granulated sugar, White whole wheat flour, All purpose flour, Cornstarch, Baking soda, Chocolate chips
• Produce: Cherries
• Spice Cabinet: Vanilla extract, Almond extract, Salt
• Required Equipment: Mixing bowls, Whisk, Baking sheets, Parchment paper or cookie mat, Silicone spatula, Cooling rack
• Recommended Equipment: Cherry pitter, Stand mixer, Cookie scoop

How to Make Chocolate & Cherry Cookies

These cookies are a fun treat, with just a simple addition which takes them from standard to exciting. However, adding cherries to these cookies only adds minimal work for you, especially if you have a cherry pitter!

To get started, add the room temperature butter and both types of sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and cream them together. Be careful not to over mix at nearly every step of cookie making. It can lead to flat, crispy cookies.

Once combined, add in the eggs and both types of extract. I love using almond extract in cookies. It adds a little extra secret that keeps everyone guessing. But here, it also complements the cherries so well. Cherry and almond is a classic combo.

Meanwhile, in a medium mixing bowl, combine all of the other dry ingredients, including both flours, baking soda, cornstarch, and salt, and whisk together. Cherries will add enough acid that baking soda is sufficient on its own in this recipe. And the cornstarch will help absorb any extra moisture, preventing the cookies from over-spreading.

Add the dry ingredients into the bowl with the creamed sugars and mix on low until just combined. You may want to add the flour mixture in two phases, so it is able to combine without it escaping from the bowl.

Then get started on prepping your cherries. I used exactly twenty-five, a combination of sweet rainier cherries, and sour cherries. However, feel free to play around with your own combinations and adding more or less.

But just look at these gorgeous things! I absolutely love cherry season. Picking cherries is such a fun activity. Since they grow on trees, you can stand in the shade, under the leafy branches, which are pulled down by tons of these little fruits. Then they just pop off, sometimes three or four at a time when you tug.

The downside to cherries is their pits. If you have a cherry pitter, that will save you a lot of time and energy. However, because the cherries in this recipe are quartered anyway, you can also use your knife to remove the pits while cutting.

Once you have your cherries all pitted and cut, you’ll want to remove some of the excess juice. Use a paper towel to wrap up the cherries and pat them dry. They don’t need to be completely dried out, just not dripping.

Add the cherry pieces and a whole bunch of chocolate chips into the bowl with the dough. Don’t use the mixer for this step, but instead grab a silicone spatula, and fold in both cherries and chocolate gently, until combined. Then cover the bowl, and chill it overnight.

Let’s Bake Some Cookies

The next day, preheat your oven and prep two sheet pans by lining them with parchment paper. There is no need to remove the dough from the fridge to let it rest, since this is already a pretty soft dough. It should scoop easily.

Use a 1.5-inch cookie scoop or a tablespoon to create balls of dough, placed at least 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. I baked five cookies per sheet, and had no collisions. If your tray is ready before the oven, put the whole tray in the fridge. Also, be sure to put the bowl of dough back in the fridge between batches.

Bake the cookies one tray at a time for 9-11 minutes, but for the first batch, keep a close eye on them. With cookies, there can be a big difference in only a minute of extra cooking time. When you take them out of the oven, they should be puffy, and just starting to get golden and dry on the edges.

Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for at least ten minutes to firm up a bit. They will lose some of their puffiness, but shouldn’t completely flatten out. If they do, increase the heat on your oven for the next batch, and bake for a minute less.

Transfer the rested cookies to a cooling rack to let them finish cooling. You can definitely sneak one at this point, but it will still be a little gooey. I won’t tell.

However, it’s best to let them cool completely, since they continue cooking with the residual heat. Once done, the cookies will look much drier and slightly flatter than when you first took them out of the oven. But they are still soft and chewy!

These taste great served the day they are baked, or you can save them for later. Store at room temperature, on a plate covered in plastic wrap for 3-4 days. Keep them around even longer by freezing them, either in a sealed container or plastic bag.

You can eat them frozen, or let them thaw up to room temperature. You can even warm them up a bit in the oven, by baking at 300F for about 5 minutes.

How to Serve These Cookies

You don’t need me to tell you that the best way to serve any kind of chewy, chocolatey cookie is with a glass of milk. But you can also enjoy these alongside some other fun treats. Try adding a scoop of coffee ice cream between two, and making an ice cream sandwich.

For a cozy drink, sip an almond Irish coffee hot cocoa, to complement the almond flavor in the cookie dough. Or if you are looking for a summertime treat, pair a couple of these with a refreshing raspberry lemon mojito.

Use Up Leftover Ingredients

• Use up any extra sour cherries by making a jar of cherry pie filling. Or try freezing your sweet cherries to cool down an amaretto old fashioned.
• Almond extract is my secret ingredient in another cookie recipe as well, and these mini skillet cookies are perfect for summer.
• I love baking with white whole wheat flour, and you can try using it too in this recipe for brown butter banana bread.
• Get your chocolate fix by adding extra chocolate chips into triple chocolate zucchini muffins.

Special Equipment

• Mixing bowls
• Whisk
• Baking sheets
• Parchment paper
• Cookie mat
• Silicone spatula
• Cooling rack
• Cherry pitter
• Stand mixer
• Cookie scoop

Shop This Post

• Large plate
• Small plate
• Similar tea towel
• Colander