Chocolate and cherries is one of my favorite pairings. If there are chocolate covered cherries somewhere, you will find me eating them. And I’ve recently discovered the joys of Ben and Jerry’s Cherry Garcia ice cream, which has me on a whole new chocolate cherry kick. So these chocolate cherry cookies are an ode to one of the best combinations around town. They are full of gooey, chocolatey layers, tart dried cherries and are perfectly rounded out with a kick of flaky salt.
These cookies are also super easy to make! First you will melt the butter and then combine that with your granulated sugar and brown sugar. It’s okay if the butter isn’t fully incorporated into the sugar and you see a little bit of separation. Just combine as much as you can. Once that is combined, add your eggs one at time until the batter has lightened in color and fully combined.
Then you’ll add in the vanilla. Once that is stirred in, turn the mixer to low and slowly mix in the dry ingredients. Continue to mix until the cookie dough as formed.
Using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, stir in the chocolate disks and the dried cherries. Once your mix-ins are incorporated, set the dough aside and let it rest for at least an hour. Then form the dough into about 16 equal sized cookies. Do not flatten the cookie dough balls. Sprinkle them with flaky salt and then bake for 10 minutes on 375F.
A quick note on the dried cherries – both sweetened and unsweetened dried cherries work here. I prefer the tartness of the unsweetened, but I have made the cookie both ways and sweetened also tastes great and doesn’t make the cookie overly sweet. Since we’re using bittersweet chocolate, that keeps a good balance with the sweetness, regardless of whether or not you use sweetened dry cherries.
As far as chocolate goes – I highly recommend using the Guittard bittersweet chocolate disks. They will add layers of chocolate to the cookie and I love the bitter flavor that you get from using a darker chocolate. If you prefer a sweeter cookie, you can definitely use semi-sweet chocolate. But I highly recommend using the disks either way, you will never make cookies with chocolate chips ever again after you try it this way!
If you’re not already a fan of chocolate and cherries, you will be after these chocolate cherry cookies! If you want other cookie recipes, check out my S’mores Cookies, Toffee Chocolate Chunk Cookies, Brown Butter Butterscotch Oatmeal Cookies, One Pan Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie, and many others! Just search “cookie” in my search bar for even more recipes!
Chewy Chocolate Cherry Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 stick unsalted butter melted (I like to use European butter)
- 1 cup dark brown sugar packed
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 10 oz dried cherries about 1.5 cups
- 2 cups bittersweet chocolate disks such as Guittard
- Flaky sea salt for sprinkling on top
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or using a hand mixer on medium speed, combine the melted butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until combined.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl after each addition. Beat on medium until fully incorporated.
- On low, beat in the vanilla extract.
- With the mixer on low, slowly add in your dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, salt) until a dough forms.
- With a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, incorporate the chocolate disks and the dried cherries.
- Cover with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and rest the cookie dough for at least 1 hour, this helps the flour to absorb some the moisture and thicken your dough, which will keep your cookies from spreading too much.
- Preheat the oven to 375F.
- Scoop the cookie dough into about 16 equal sized cookies. If you are using a kitchen scale, each cookie should be about 70 grams. Place the cookie dough balls on a parchment lined baking sheet a few inches apart, as they will spread a bit. Do not flatten the cookies.
- Sprinkle some flaky sea salt over the cookies.
- Bake for 10 minutes, or until the edges of the cookie are set and golden brown but the center is still soft and gooey.
- Let the cookies cool for about a minute or two on the baking sheet to set up, and then use a rubber spatula to transfer them to a cooling rack.
- Enjoy warm or allow them to cool completely!
