Tis the time of year to start baking cookies! I love it, and I love cookies. Cookies are a family tradition at our house. There are just so many great Christmas cookie recipes and so many friends, neighbors, and extended family to share them with. Honestly, who in the world wouldn’t love a batch of assorted sweet treats to indulge in? These Maraschino Cherry Almond Chocolate Cookies are the perfect complement to your cookie tray. They are gorgeous and delicious, and the flavor combination is amazing!
These days there are so many ways to pack them for gift-giving. Wrap it Up: 30 Cute Cookie Wrappers to Buy or DIY has so many awesome ideas!! My favorites are the Dot Handle Boxes and the Sweet Heart Lace Favor Boxes!! I have also found many great ideas for wrapping and packing cookies at Target in the dollar bins.
Maraschino Cherry Almond Chocolate Cookies are easy shortbread cookies full of cherries and semi-sweet chocolate chips. There is a touch of almond flavoring to complement the cookie. They are so quick to come together. Have you made any of my other Christmas treats and cookies? Foolproof Almond Joy Fudge, Thick Chocolate Chunk Pecan Cookies, and Peppermint Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies are just a few reader favorites.
They can be frozen ahead of time. I pack all my cookies in doubled Ziploc freezer bags and place them in sturdy glad-ware containers. When thawing, take them out of the containers frozen and place them on serving trays or platters uncovered. Never allow them to defrost in the plastic and the containers. The condensation that builds in there will ruin the cookies.
So if you love baking and making special holiday treats to share with others put these Maraschino Cherry Almond Chocolate Cookies on your Christmas baking list. They will make a special addition to your holiday cookie tray!
Maraschino Cherry Almond Chocolate Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter softened
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 2-3 tablespoons maraschino cherry juice
- 1/2 cup maraschino cherries chopped
- 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chip morsels
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cover cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl with a mixer, beat butter until smooth and creamy. Beat in almond extract and powdered sugar. Turn the mixer to stir or low and slowly add flour mixing in until incorporated. Mix in maraschino cherry juice and maraschino cherries. Stir in chocolate chips.
- Roll into 1-inch balls and place on parchment paper. Spray the bottom of a glass with nonstick cooking spray and flatten the balls. You will need to spray the glass several times.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before removing cookies to cookie cooling racks.
Video
Notes
- You can also bake the cookies as rolled balls, and they will cook to a more traditional cookie shape. Flattening gives them more of a shortbread look.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature or up to 6 days in the refrigerator.
Nutrition
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Amanda
These are by far the best cookies I have ever tried. Everyone must try them.
Mary
I LOVED this recipe but will say there is definitely too much flour in the original recipe! The first batch I made were way too flour-y (I had to add some water to help it stick together in dough form) and not cherry flavored enough.
I made a second batch with only 2 cups of flour and 4 tablespoons of cherry juice and they were MUCH better – more moist and flavorful! Delicious!! It also depends on your cherry juice – I got high end maraschino cherries from Giant and the juice was very thick and flavorful. But then I used a Target brand one for my second batch, the juice was basically water, so I put in a few more to make sure the flavor got in 🙂 thank you for a delicious recipe!!
Beth Pierce
Thanks for the heads up Mary! Glad that you liked them!
Sheila
I attempted to make these ‘low- carb’ last night….using powdered Truvia instead of sugar and a mixture of almond and coconut flour. While very, very good, I really think my flour conversion was a bit off…I’ll be making another attempt at these! They really are quite good!
Beth Pierce
Thanks Sheila! I love a good cook that can improvise!
Pegs
Katherine– shortbread are still quite soft and moist when to take them out of the oven. They harden as they cool. In the end, the texture is slightly firm with a crumbly texture. They dissolve when you take a bite, thanks to the butter and flour.
Katherine J Raymond
Mine are not baking why?
Beth Pierce
I am sure they were baking. They are shortbread cookies so they bake like that and they taste like that.
Brad
Hello,
I followed the recipe precisely but they came out really flat. Does the dough need to be refrigerated before baking?
Come to think of it, my dough was really soft. I don’t think I could have hand rolled them. I used a cookie scoop but still flattened with a glass. Before baking they looked just like yours, but after… flat. What could I do different?
Beth Pierce
Perhaps the butter was too soft. Sometimes cookie dough does require refrigeration if the cookies are spreading too fast. I am not sure if I have it in helpful tips on this post but now I always advise people to bake off just a couple the first run to see if they spread too fast and to establish optimum cooking time. If they spread too fast I advise refrigeration for at least 2 hours.
Daria
OMG I am obsessed with these cookies!!! Maybe it is their cool pink color (I used 3 T. cherry juice)! Or the fact that they contain maraschino cherries! When I was a child, I loved maraschino cherries so much that my mom would buy jars and I would eat one each day. Anyway I think they are the best cookies I’ve ever baked! Thank you so much for posting the recipe 🙂
Beth Pierce
Thanks so much Daria! So glad that you like them! They are delicious!
JD Simone
It looks easy and delicious!
Andrea
Any idea how I could alter this recipe to make it AIP compliant? Recently diagnosed with a myositis disorder. These look soo yummy!!!!
Beth Pierce
Sorry! I am not sure how to do that. Maybe one of the readers will know.
sandy
there are natural maraschino cherries btw..the brightly colored ones are highly processed , highly sweetened and artificially dyed. consider using real ones, not the fake brightly colored ones.
Nicole
Can we use half powdered sugar and half brown sugar ? Do you think that would work out ok?
Beth Pierce
Not sure on that one. Sometimes changing something like that is an experiment. If you decide to try that please let us know.
Charline M Boucher
I hate to ask a baker, but if i need to take a shortcut and buy a package of shortbread cookie mix, can i just add the amount listed above for almond extract, cherry & juice, morsels, etc. and bake as noted?
Beth Pierce
I would think so but I have not tried it.
Renee Kaiser
Do you need to store baked cookies in the refrigerator because of the maraschino cherries?
Beth Pierce
Yes I do store them in the fridge.
Beth Pierce
Yes you can! Happy Baking!
Autumn
I love this recipe. I made them for a Girl Scout event, and had requests to make batches for three other people! Super easy to make, and they taste great.
Beth Pierce
Thanks so much! I hope you had a Merry Christmas!
Jennifer
How would you adjust this for high altitude?
Beth Pierce
I will try to address this as soon as I get back home from shopping. Thanks!
Karen
I wonder about not using chocolate chips, but putting a Hershey kiss on top when they come out of the oven. Thoughts?
Beth Pierce
I am not sure. I have never tried it. Please let me know how it turns out
Vicki
Ive used a hershey kiss on top and they turned out great! Add the kiss after you take them out of the oven!
Beth Pierce
Thanks for the tip Vicki! So glad that you liked them!
Michelle
I have been making these cookies for the last couple of years, and we absolutely love them. I’m wondering if it is possible to freeze them after baking them?
Beth Pierce
Yes, you can!
Kelly P
I bet that would be yummy!!