chocolate cherry pie cookies

These festive Chocolate Cherry Pie Cookies are made with a simple 5-ingredient dough and require no chill time! The cookie base is buttery and soft, and its complemented perfectly by the sweet cherry pie filling. Drizzle a little chocolate on top, and wonder where these incredible cookies have been all your life!

This post was originally published in Dec of 2020, but I just updated it with the addition of almond extract to the cookies and more tips & tricks!

Why you’ll love this recipe:

• Cherry Filling – These cookies are full of sweet cherry filling.
• Buttery Shortbread Cookies – The slightly sweet shortbread cookie base has a buttery soft texture.
• No Chill – These cookies require no chill time, but can also be made ahead! See details below.

Ingredient Overview

• Butter – I always use salted buter for the best flavor, but feel free to use unsalted butter if you prefer.
• Flour – Spoon & level your flour for best results. Scooping the measuring cup directly in will lead to too much flour. Or use a scale, and weigh 135 grams of all-purpose flour per cup.
• Cherry Pie Filling – This can be found in the baking aisle at most grocery stores.
• Almond Extract – A teaspoon almond extract in the dough compliments the cherry flavor beautifully!

Ingredient Substitutions:

• Dairy-free – Use dairy-free butter and chocolate to make this recipe dairy-free.
• Chocolate – Use milk chocolate, white chocolate, semi-sweet or dark chocolate. Any of these works beautifully! Melting wafers or chopped baking bars are preferable to white chocolate chips.
• Almond Extract – You can leave this out if desired.

How to Make this Recipe Step-by-Step:

Step 1: Make the Dough. In a large bowl, cream softened butter with vanilla and almond extracts. Add the all-purpose flour and powdered sugar, and mix until a crumbly mixture forms. At this point (see photo below), you’ll need to go in with clean hands and work the crumbly mixture into a dough. It will come together!

Step 2: Shape & Fill the Cookies. Divide the dough into balls about Press an indent into each cookie ball with your fingertip or a 1 tsp measuring spoon, and then fill the indents with cherry pie filling!

Step 3: Bake the Cookies. Bake as directed in the recipe card below. Let the cookies cool for a few minutes on a baking sheet (they’ll be a bit soft and delicate at first), then transfer to a wire rack.

Step 4: Drizzle with Chocolate. Drizzle the cooled cookies with any flavor of chocolate you like to make these delicious chocolate cherry cookies.

I hope you love this easy recipe as much as we do! They’re the perfect cookie – we’ve got bright color, a burst of cherry flavor, and of course – chocolate. This recipe makes a perfect addition to any holiday cookie trays you might be dropping off for friends + family this year. These also make a fabulous Valentine’s day cookie!

Expert Success Tips:

• Chocolate – Reduce waste by placing a cookie sheet under the cookies to catch any chocolate drips. You can re-use whatever falls onto the (clean) baking sheet. Pop the cookies in the fridge to help the chocolate set up quickly.
• Cherries – I find that 2-3 cherries is about all you can fit into these, since they are a smaller cookie. Often, a bit more space in the center will open up once the cookies have baked, so you can always add an extra cherry here and there as needed.
• Dough Balls –Reduce the amount of cracks in the baked cookies by making sure you roll the dough balls really well, to keep them as smooth as possible. And, embrace the imperfections! 🙂

Make-Ahead Tips & FAQs:

• Can I make this cookie recipe ahead? Yes! The cookie dough can be made and kept in the fridge wrapped or in an airtight container for 2-3 days before shaping and baking. Same with the shaped cookies, without the cherry filling. You can also freeze the shaped cookies without the cherry filling in an airtight container for 2-3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight or bake from frozen, adding the cherry filling at that time.
• Can I freeze these cookies? Yes! See above note.
• Can I double or halve the recipe? Yes, absolutely.
• Can I use Maraschino Cherries? I don’t recommend using maraschino cherries, because the liquid coming off of them will be too runny for the dough. With the cherry pie filling, there’s no need to blot the maraschino cherry juice off chopped cherries with paper towels, or anything fussy like that.
• Can I use fresh cherries? Yes – but not raw. You’ll need to cook them into a sauce or compote on the stove – use my recipe from these Black Forest Brownies.

Recipe Variations:

• Other Flavors – This recipe would work with other pie fillings like blueberry, strawberry, etc.

Serving + Storing this Recipe:

Store these chocolate covered cherry cookies in an in an airtight container in the fridge for up 5-6 days. They hold up a bit better in the fridge than at room temperature.

Special Tools:

• Cookie Scoop – Use this cookie scoop to make your cookies the size I did. It’s technically an ice cream scoop, but it’s the perfect size for large bakery-style cookies.
• Baking Sheets – These are my favorite cookie sheets!
• Silicone Baking Mat – This is my favorite silicone baking mat. It reduces waste because it’s washable!
• Kitchen Everyone needs a scale to make sure their flour is at the proper weight, since amounts vary SO widely based on how you measure it. – Everyone needs a scale to make sure their flour is at the proper weight, since amounts vary SO widely based on how you measure it.

More Favorite Cookie Recipes to Love:

• Bakery-Style Peanut Butter Chip Chocolate Cookies
• Key Lime Slice & Bake Cookies
• Blueberry Lemon Cookies
• Peanut Butter & Jelly Thumbprint Cookies
• Funfetti Cake Batter Cookies
• Cherry Pie Cookies
• Triple Chocolate Chunk Cookies
• Monster Cookies
• Best Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies

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