Maraschino Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies (Printable)
Sweet tender treats bursting with chocolate chips and juicy cherries, a colorful twist on classic chocolate chip cookies.
# What You'll Need:
→ Dry Ingredients
01 - 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
02 - 1 teaspoon baking soda
03 - ½ teaspoon salt
→ Wet Ingredients
04 - 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
05 - ¾ cup granulated sugar
06 - ¾ cup packed light brown sugar
07 - 2 large eggs
08 - 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
→ Add-ins
09 - 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
10 - 1 cup maraschino cherries, drained, patted dry, and chopped
11 - ½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
# Directions:
01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
02 - In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
03 - In a large bowl, beat the softened butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes.
04 - Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla extract until fully incorporated.
05 - Gradually add the dry ingredient mixture to the wet ingredients, mixing just until combined. Do not overmix.
06 - Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the chocolate chips and chopped maraschino cherries by hand. Fold in nuts if using.
07 - Drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart.
08 - Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden. The centers should still appear soft.
09 - Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
# Expert Advice:
01 -
- Those little bursts of cherry hiding inside a chocolate chip cookie will make people think you spent hours on something fancy when you barely broke a sweat.
- The dough comes together in one bowl with zero complicated techniques, which means you can have warm cookies cooling on your rack in under an hour.
- They look gorgeous on a dessert table with those bright pink cherry pieces peeking through golden cookie edges.
02 -
- Those cherries must be patted bone dry with paper towels before chopping, and I learned this the hard way when my first batch spread into one giant cookie blob on the sheet.
- Adding a quarter teaspoon of almond extract alongside the vanilla was an accidental discovery that completely transformed the cherry flavor and made the cookies taste like they came from a bakery.
03 -
- Chill the dough for thirty minutes before scooping if your kitchen is warm, because cold dough spreads less and produces thicker, chewier cookies with more defined edges.
- Reserve a small handful of chocolate chips and cherry pieces to press into the tops of each dough ball before baking, which makes the finished cookies look beautiful and loaded with mix ins.