These Chocolate Cherry Cookies are soft fudge cookies with a sweet maraschino cherry right in the center and then drizzled with a chocolate fudge sauce.
Author:Beth Pierce
Prep Time:20 minutes
Cook Time:10 minutes
Total Time:30 minutes
Yield:30
Category:cookies
Method:bake
Cuisine:American
Ingredients
1/2 cup butter softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cup cocoa
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons cherry juice (from maraschino cherry jar)
30–36 jarred maraschino cherries
1/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk
1 tablespoon cherry juice (from maraschino cherry jar)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cream butter and both sugars with a mixer. Add eggs one at a time and mix in.
Combine flour, cocoa, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a medium bowl. Add 1/2 cup dry mixture to butter mixture at a time. Blending after each addition just until combined and scraping the side of the mixer bowl as needed. Add vanilla and 2 teaspoons of cherry juice and mix just until combined. Remove bowl from mixer and refrigerate for 30 minutes
Butter hands and roll dough into 1-inch balls. Place on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper. Using your thumb, press a small indentation in the center of each cookie and place a maraschino cherry in the hole.
Bake for 10 minutes.
Melt chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk on low. When melted, add 1 tablespoon of cherry juice. Drizzle over cooled cookies.
Notes
Cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy.
Use good quality cocoa. It really does make a difference.
Cover baking sheets with silicone mats or parchment paper.
Preheat the oven and load the cookies on the middle rack so the heat is as even as possible.
Use your thumb to press a small indentation in the cookie before baking. You want the cherry to be very prominent, so it is just a slight impression to get the cherry to cradle on the top of the cookie.
The fudge topping is semi-soft, so serve in a single layer.
If you must have a stackable cookie, replace the chocolate drizzle with melted chocolate. Melt 2/3 cup of chocolate morsels according to package instructions. Drizzle and then allow to cool until set.
Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature or up to 6 days in the refrigerator.