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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Emily
Great recipe with a few modifications. I used 1 and 1/4 tsp almond extract and 3-4 tbsp of cherry juice because I like a pink cookie. I also found that adding 1/4 tsp salt makes the flavor pop. Additionally I refrigerated the dough for 15-20 min before baking.
Beth Pierce
Thanks for the tips Emily!
Sheila
I am glad to see your addition of salt. I made them as originally directed in the recipe. The taste was ok but I thought they would have been a little tastier with a hint of salt. The cookie looked really pretty with the cherries and chocolate chips.
Lana
Very pleased with recipe i followed recipe. I left cherries juicy when I chopped cherries
Flavor was amazing
Family loved them
Beth Pierce
So glad that you liked them! They are yummy!
Rebecca
I just made these and they’re AMAZING. My entire family loves them! Thanks for the awesome recipe!
Beth Pierce
You are most welcome Rebecca! I am so glad that you liked them!
Jessica L
Salted or unsalted butter?
Beth Pierce
Unsalted butter please!
John
Delicious. I followed the recipe exactly. I started out with the reduced flour that was mentioned above but the batter was WAY too sticky to form the balls. Will be making more today!
Beth Pierce
Thanks John! Maybe try refrigerating the dough for a while to help with the sticky problem!
Tina
My never turned into dough it stayed very pasty never rolled into balls it was too mushy… I wonder why no eggs?
Beth Pierce
They are a shortbread cookies. Shortbread cookies do not have eggs. Sticky dough can be refrigerated until you are able to roll it.
Teri
Lovely cookies 🙂 I make a double batch and do half with chocolate chips and half with white chocolate chips. Instead of spraying cooking spray on the bottom of the glass used to flatten the cookies, I use a small piece of waxed paper or parchment between the cookie and the glass. The glass doesn’t stick to and the paper peels right off the cookie 🙂 Happy Baking!
Beth Pierce
Awesome Teri! So glad that you like them. Thanks for the great tip!
THOMAS
can i add sliced almonds to it……how much do u suggest if so
Abbie
These are wonderful cookies! The dough itself is not too sweet. I used 3 TBSP of the Maraschino Cherry juice plus 1/2 cup chopped cherries. The first tjme I made them I used a full cup of mini semisweet chips and thought that was too much. the second time I used 3/4 cup of the mini chips which was better since they disburse more easily in the dough. I rolled in 1 inch balls and pressed down slightly with my fingers. They baked for about 16-17 min. and I got 40 cookies. I will make again – Easy – Tasty and Festive!
Beth Pierce
That is awesome Abbie! Thanks for all the tips! We love those cookies too!
Nikki
Followed this recipe to the T, and these came out wonderfully!!! I felt like the queen of the cookie exchange! Thanks for sharing! I will definitely be making these again!
Beth Pierce
That is awesome Nikki! So glad that you felt like the queen!! I absolutely love it!
Lisa Bolton
Instead of spraying a bottom of a glass to flatten, i sprayed a sheet of wax paper and placed it over the balls, then used the glass to flatten then over the wax paper, peeled off waxed paper. I was able to use the same piece a couple times without respraying. Less tedious! Love this recipe, and so did my family!
Beth Pierce
I am so glad that you and your family liked them. Thanks for the tip! Sounds like a great plan!
Alec Pratto
What a beautiful cookie! For those who don’t use parchment paper: these cookies have enough butter that they will not stick to your cookie sheet. No greasing needed. You can just roll them out and flatten them by hand. If baking with kids, chill the dough first and it will be less messy for them to roll. Next time, I will try without chocolate and with 1 tsp vanilla to enhance the shortbread taste.
Jennifer Nelson
These looked incredible! And I made 2 batches of dough (all the instructions and ingredients exactly as the recipe calls for) without reading through the reviews. I did decide to read them after assembling everything and started to get very worried. I have to admit the dough taseted very floury, but what was I going to do now, throw it all away?! I rolled everything up and left it in the freezer for a couple of days. Today I started to cut and bake them, I’m so very glad I froze them. I cut them easily and baked off 15-20 at a time (I rolled the about 1.5″ thick) for 14 minutes, since they were frozen. They did get golden brown on the bottom, but I have yet to meet a homemade cookie that doesn’t and they don’t taste burnt to me at all. And I have to say, THEY ARE WONDERFUL! They taste very different than the dough, so if you try the dough and are worried, please don’t be. They are absolutely delish! Thank you!
Beth Pierce
Thanks so much Jennifer. So glad that you liked them and that you kept going with the recipe. I will have to try rolling them and freezing them as it would be a lot less work and I could have fresh baked cookies whenever I wanted. Happy holidays!
michelle johnson
i made these cookies today they was great. best shortbread cookie i have had in a long time. I added more cherry juice and they turned amazing if you bake them round with out flattening them they will be soft and good, if you flatten them they will be firm and good either way they are great. i will be making them again
Beth Pierce
Thanks so much Michelle! So glad that you liked them. I love shortbread cookies too!
Karen Beverstock
I didn’t think they Were sweet enough, can I use regular sugar instead of powered
Becca
I found this recipe while looking for a substitute for a past favorite recipe. Several in my family are now allergic to the food dye red 40. We used to make a cherry chip cookie with a cherry chip cake mix (which includes red 40). I tried to change your recipe to be a bit more similar to our old recipe. I used a half-cup milk chocolate chips and a half-cup white chocolate chips rather than the one cup semisweet. I added a handful of pecans. I used maraschino cherries from Aldi because they don’t have red 40. The cookies turned out delicious! They aren’t as pretty as your pictures because there is no artificial dye, but they taste great! We tried topping them with a little pink/red sugar sprinkles to help with the cuteness.
Beth Pierce
So glad that you were able to adapt them to your needs and wants! All great ideas for avoiding red dye.
Sharon White
I just made these cookies, using a little more cherry juice and a little less flour as suggested in comments. My husband, who has never been a fan of shortbread, said, “That is the perfect combination of ingredients and the perfect slight crispiness on the outside. I could eat the whole pan.” Thanks for a great recipe–I have to go now and hide them from him. 🙂
Beth Pierce
Thanks Sharon! So glad that you and your hubby enjoyed them!