If Christmas were a cookie, It would be these Cherry & Almond Chocolate Chip Cookies. They have almond extract, maraschino cherries, salted almonds and pools of chocolate. What’s not to love!?
I initially wanted to make these into biscottis, but I was just really wanting a dressed up CC cookie! And they taste so good! The almond extract is a must and makes these cookies so special! There’s almonds for crunchy texture and 2 kinds of chocolate! They are a Christmas cookie dream!
Ingredients for Cherry & Almond Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Salted butter
- Sugar and brown sugar
- Almond and vanilla extract
- Egg
- Flour & baking soda
- Salt
- Chopped almonds
- Chopped maraschino cherries
- Chocolate chips and chunks
Maraschino cherries are very easy to find year-round. I like chop them and pat them as dry as possible with paper towels since they come soaked in liquid.
For me, maraschino cherries are so nostalgic and bring back so many childhood memories. I used to love Shirley temples with extra cherries! And even though they have absolutely no nutritional value and are pretty much stripped of their actual true cherry flavor, it’s Christmas! Anything goes. Bring on the high fructose corn syrup.
To chill or not to chill?
- I’m a big believer in chilling cookies for at least 1 hour, and if you can wait, 1-2 days. It just gives the cookie a better flavor and even texture! It may seem impossible, at least for me. But 1 day of chilling time really gives you a delicious tasting cookie. Just allow them to come to room temp once you remove them for the fridge.
Cherry & Almond Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 stick salted butter softened, not melted
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup dark brown sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 1 large egg
- 1½ cups AP flour spooned and leveled off
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup chocolate chips milk chocolate or semi-sweet
- 2 oz chopped bittersweet chocolate from a bar
- ¼ cup chopped pitted maraschino cherries patted dry
- ⅓ cup chopped almonds
Instructions
- In a medium mixing bowl, add your flour, salt & baking powder. set aside.
- In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter, sugars and extracts for 2 minutes. Add in your egg and beat until combined. be sure to scrape the sides of the bowl down to make sure everything is incorporated.
- Next, add in you flour mixture and mix just until there are no dry pockets left. remove the bowl and fold in your chocolate, chopped almonds and maraschino cherries with a spatula. Scoop the dough into balls and chill for 1 hour or up to 3 days.
- When ready to bake, scoop the dough using a tablespoon measure or cookie scoop onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Allow space in between for spreading. Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes. Let them cool on their tray fie 10 minutes before enjoying.
Notes
- I like to use salted butter in my cookies most of the time. It makes the cookies more flavorful, but unsalted butter is totally fine.
- Make sure to buy pitted maraschino cherries and pat them dry before and after you chop them to get them as dry as possible.
- I use whole almonds, but slivered or blanched are fine too.
- The chopped chocolate from a bar gives a melty delicious texture throughout the cookie. The chips will stay pretty solid.
- This recipe makes between 16-18 cookies.
