These Chocolate Cherry Thumbprint Cookies taste like a chocolate covered cherry in cookie form. They’ve got a soft chocolate cookie, topped with a smooth and rich chocolate ganache, and a maraschino cherry. Perfect for chocolate cherry lovers!
I think it’s cookie season all year round, and these cookies are a good choice all year long, but they’re also a great choice for the holidays! Add these chocolate cherry cookies to your cookie trays, or serve a batch at your next holiday party. The cookies are sweet, chocolatey, with a nice cherry taste!
Why make these cookies
- Beautiful Cookies – These cookies are elegant, and beautiful. With their contrast in color and a beautiful red cherry on top, these cookies are sure to impress at practically any gathering!
- Quick and Easy – Despite their appearance, these cookies are easy to make with mostly pantry ready ingredients, no chilling needed, and a few easy steps.
- Delicious Flavor Combo – The rich chocolate cookie, and ganache, and sweet cherry on top is a perfect combo. Perfect for chocolate + cherry lovers.
Ingredients Needed
This is a quick overview of the ingredients you’ll need for this Chocolate Cherry Thumbprint Cookie Recipe. Specific measurements and full recipe instructions are in the printable recipe card below.
- Unsalted butter – adds a rich flavor to the cookies, and helps hold everything together
- Granulated sugar + brown sugar – for the perfect balance of moisture, texture, and sweetness
- Egg – helps bind everything together
- Vanilla extract – for flavor
- All purpose flour – provides structure for the cookies
- Unsweetened cocoa powder – adds the rich chocolate flavor to the dough
- Baking soda – helps the cookies rise
- Chocolate chips – to make the chocolate ganache, you can use semi-sweet chocolate, milk chocolate, or dark chocolate
- Heavy whipping cream – To make the ganache
- Cherry extract – to give the cookie a little extra cherry flavor
- Maraschino Cherries – you can substitute cherry pie filling instead
How to make Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies
Step 1: Cream the butter and sugars together in a large bowl, for about 2 minutes. Add in the egg, and vanilla extract and mix until combined.
Step 2: Add in the dry ingredients. Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt and whisk them together. Slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix on low until combined.
Step 3: Bake the cookies. Roll the cookie into balls. Take 1 TBS of the cookie dough and roll it into balls. Roll each cookie into granulated sugar. Place the balls onto a cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Press a “thumbprint” into each cookie with the back side of a teaspoon measuring spoon. Bake the cookies until the tops are just set. Remove from the oven and re-press the top of the cookie with the back of the spoon.
Step 4: Make the ganache. Heat the heavy cream in the microwave for about 45 seconds, or 1 minute until hot. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate chips in a bowl and let it sit for a few minutes. Stir the mixture together until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.
Step 5: Assemble the cookies. Spoon about 1 teaspoon of the ganache into the indent of each cookie. Top with a maraschino cherry. Let them sit until the ganache is set, or enjoy immediately.
Tips and Tricks
- Measure the Flour Correctly – Its important to measure flour correctly to avoid adding too much and ending with dry cookies. Spoon the flour into the measuring cup, then level the top off with the back of a knife. Or weigh the flour for the best results.
- Do not Over Bake – The cookies should just start to crack, and barely be set on top. The cookies will keep baking out of the oven, and we want to keep the cookies soft.
- High Quality Chocolate – Use a high quality chocolate chip, or chopped chocolate bar like Guittard, Ghiradelli, or Lindt for the best results in making a nice, smooth ganache topping for your cookies.
- More Cherry Flavor – Add 1 teaspoon of cherry extract to the cookie dough, for a stronger cherry flavor in every bite.
Storage Instructions
Store the assembled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. If the cookies are unassembled they can be stored for up to 4 or 5 days, store the cherries and ganache in the fridge. Re-heat the ganache in the microwave in 20 second increments, then spoon into the cookies, add the cherries, and enjoy.
These Chocolate Cherry Thumbprint Cookies are such a rich, and elegant cookie that are sure to impress everyone! They’re beautiful, and delicious flavor combo is such a fun twist on traditional thumbprint cookies – you’ll be making them on repeat!
More Cookie Recipes
- Caramel Snickerdoodles
- Oatmeal Lace Cookies
- Drop Sugar Cookies
- Chocolate Blossom Cookies
- Cherry Kiss Cookies
- Lemon Thumbprint Cookies
If you try these Chocolate Cherry Thumbprint Cookies, please leave a 🌟 rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you!
Chocolate Cherry Thumbprint Cookies
Ingredients
For the Cookie Dough:
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 TBS milk (optional, if needed)
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar (for rolling)
For the Chocolate Ganache:
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup high quality chocolate chips
- 1 tsp cherry extract (optional)
- 36 Maraschino Cherries (stems removed)
Instructions
For the Cookie Dough:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, or a silicone liner.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients, the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Set the mixture aside. 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour, 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt
- Using a large bowl with a hand mixer, or a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugars for a couple minutes until light and fluffy. 1/2 cup unsalted butter, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar
- Add in the egg, and vanilla extra and stir until just combined. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl as needed. 1 large egg, 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on slow speed until combined. Add in the milk if needed, if the dough is too dry. 1 TBS milk
- Scoop the dough into 1 TBS portions and roll them into balls. Roll the balls into the remaining sugar. 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- Place them onto the prepared baking sheet, 2 inches apart from each other. Press an indent into the top of each cookie with the back of a teaspoon measuring spoon.
- Bake the cookies for 5 to 7 minutes, until the tops are just barely set. Remove them from the oven, and re-impress the indent into the top of each cookie.
- Let the cookies sit on the cookie sheet for 10 minutes, then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool more.
For the Chocolate Ganache:
- Add the heavy cream to a small microwave safe bowl and microwave in 30 second increments, for 45 seconds to 1 minute, until hot. 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- Pour the heavy cream over chocolate chips in a medium sized bowl. Pour in the cherry extract, and let them sit for 2 to 3 minutes. 1 cup high quality chocolate chips, 1 tsp cherry extract
- Stir the ganache together until smooth.
- Spoon a teaspoon of ganache into the indent in each cookie.
- Press a Marsaschino Cherry into the top of the ganache on each cookie. 36 Maraschino Cherries
- Let the cookies sit until the ganache is set, and enjoy.
Anything with cherries and chocolate are always a favorite. These cookies are definitely a favorite. So good!
I wonder could you use candied cherries?