Cherry 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 these Cherry Cookies:
- Cherry Filling – These cherry pie 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 Cherry Cookie 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! 🙂
- Oven Thermometer – An oven thermometer will tell you if your oven is actually running at the temperature you set it to. Your oven may not be accurate. Accurate oven temperature is crucial for most bakes, so I leave an oven thermometer in at all times to keep an eye on my oven’s calibration.
- Kitchen Scale – A food scale is the best way to make sure your flour is at the proper weight, since amounts will vary SO widely based on how you measure it, as well as the measuring cup you use, as they are not standardized.
FAQs:
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.
Yes, see note in the box directly above.
Yes, you absolutely can.
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. It’s just ready to use!
Yes – but not raw. You’ll need to cook them into a sauce or compote on the stove – use my Homemade Cherry Compote Recipe.
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!
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
Did you make this recipe? Snap a photo and leave a comment!
Be sure to follow bluebowlrecipes on instagram and tag #bluebowlrecipes with your photo! You can also post a photo of your recipe to the bluebowlrecipes Facebook page. I’d love to see what you make!
Cherry Pie Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter, softened 2 sticks, or 16 tbsp, or 226 grams
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp almond extract optional
- 2 cups all-purpose flour spooned & leveled or weighed out, 260 grams
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- pinch of salt
- 1 can cherry pie filling
- 4 ounces milk or white chocolate, for decorating
Instructions
- Prep: Make sure your butter has been softened at room temperature. Preheat your oven to 325° F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Make the Cookie Dough: Cream the buter in a medium bowl with an electric mixer (or stand mixer) until creamy. Mix in the vanilla until just incorporated. Add the flour, powdered sugar, and pinch of salt and begin to mix. The mixture will be VERY crumbly and will seem dry, and you will wonder how it's going to form cookie dough (see photos above). This is normal. After you've reached that dry crumbly stage, it's time to get in there with (clean!) hands and continue mixing the dough, until you're able to form the dough into a ball that holds together.Roll cookie dough balls about 1 tbsp or 35 grams in size. Place balls a few inches apart onto a prepared baking sheet, and use your thumb to make an indent in each one. (If the dough cracks a bit around the edges when you make the indent, don't fret – that's normal. Try to roll the balls really smooth to limit this.) Spoon 2-3 cherries from the cherry pie filling into each indent.
- Bake: There's no dough chilling in this recipe! Bake the cookies for 12-14 minutes. (I usually have to do the full 14). The cookies will be soft right out of the oven, so let them cool about 10 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a cooling rack.
- Decorate: Drizzle cooled cookies with melted white chocolate, milk chocolate, or any type of chocolate you like!
- Serve + Store: Enjoy immediately! Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. If layering in a container, be sure to let the chocolate set first, and use parchment or wax paper between layers.
Nutrition
Liana says
I tried making these two different times, once with butter that I left out overnight, the other time with butter that I let soften about 20 minutes, then I refrigerated the dough for about 10 minutes. Each time I made these, the dough spread out so much that the cookie fell apart right after the first bite. I really don’t know what I did wrong, any tips?
Stephanie Simmons says
Hi Liana! Hmm, I’m not sure what would cause that as I’ve made these cookies dozens of times and never experienced that. Did you let the cookies cool completely? They will be very delicate until they’re cooled. Do you have an oven thermometer? Check to see if your oven is running colder than it says, as this would cause the cookies to be under baked and be very delicate.
Angela says
These are my new favorite cookie! The flavor is spot on and the texture/consistency… Perfection. The serving tray was created by mpletely empty halfway through the Christmas party! Thank you!
Stephanie Simmons says
Thanks so much for the rave review, Angela!
Selina says
These are super simple to make and delish!!! Love this recipe
Stephanie Simmons says
So glad to hear it, Selina! 🙂
Angela N. says
This recipe was incredibly easy and delicious! The cookies aren’t super sweet and can easily be modified with other fillings. I will be adding these to my holiday baking every year. Thank you for this!
Stephanie Simmons says
Thanks for your kind review, Angela! Happy baking & happy holidays! 🙂
Tori says
Easy to follow & super yummy! Thanks for another great recipe!
Stephanie Simmons says
Thanks, Tori!
Cathy says
These cookies look amazing! I can’t wait to make them! Can they be frozen?
Stephanie Simmons says
Hi Cathy! If you want to freeze either the dough or the baked cookies, I recommend doing it without the cherry filling. Freeze the dough in the shaped cookies, then add the filling to the frozen dough and bake from frozen. Or, you should be able to bake the cookies without the filling, then add the filling later if you want to freeze the baked cookies. Hope that helps! Let me know how you like these.
Sophie G. says
The bit of chocolate just makes it, this is a great cookie recipe for left over filling!
Stephanie Simmons says
Thanks, Sophie! Happy baking! 🙂
Leann says
These cookies were so easy and SO absolutely delicious!
Stephanie Simmons says
Thanks, Leann! 🙂
Ana says
Looks good, must try to make this at xnas.
Stephanie Simmons says
Thanks, Ana! Let me know how you like these. 🙂
FrankieJane says
This is the first recipe for cookies that I ever made that actually made exactly the number of cookies it said it made … so YAY … my oven which is usually dead on took a full 16 minutes to cook these … I also found that if you thumbprint them right after rolling into a ball they did not crack …these are delicious and am looking forward to sharing them later today … and I managed to drag them off my pan onto the cooling rack leaving them on the parchment paper and drizzled with chocolate there was one less thing to cleanup. Thanks for the wonderful recipe!
Stephanie Simmons says
So glad you loved these cookies! Thanks for taking the time to leave that kind comment. 🙂 Happy baking!
Rita says
I love the way you explained and had pics of every step.my recepy is similar to yours but use regular sugar .next time I will follow yours .I also use different jams on them but I will certainly try them with the cherries and chocolate. They look much prettier.
Stephanie Simmons says
Thanks, Rita! Glad you found the post helpful. 🙂 Happy New Year!
Jennifer says
I made these this morning for our neighbors. The dough was crumbly but it does come together with ease . I had no cracks in mine which was surprising , I did bake mine as well for the full 14 minutes . They are so good , I’ll definitely be keeping them on my baking rotation.