This particular recipe for chocolate-coated cherry cookies became a beloved holiday tradition for our friend, Nichelle. In her home, the holidays bring back memories of this tasty treat and its certain brownie-like texture, drizzled in chocolate, with a sweet maraschino cherry baked into the center.Every Christmas, Nichelle’s mother would let the children help by enlisting them to roll out exactly 48 balls of brownie dough, making an imprint in the center for the cherry.
As Nichelle and her siblings grew, part of the tradition became passing this job down to the younger children. And now, three generations of kids have assisted in the chocolate-coated cherry cookie making.Because this special cookie played such a big role in her childhood holiday festivities, Nichelle assumed that the recipe had been in the family for quite some time. But as it turns out, it was her own mother who had stumbled upon this recipe over thirty years ago. She took it upon herself to make a more exciting cookie than the standard teacakes that filled most holiday cookie tins every year. Thus, a new holiday tradition was born.
Nowadays, chocolate-coated cherry cookies are a non-negotiable part of Nichelle’s holidays, and she plans to carry on her mother’s tradition for years and years to come.
Chocolate-coated cherry cookies recipe
Makes about 4 dozen cookies
Ingredients:
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla
- 10-ounce jar (or about 45) maraschino cherries
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chunks or chips
- ½ cup sweetened condensed milk
Directions:
- In a large bowl, mix together flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine butter and sugar. Beat at a low speed until fluffy.
- Add egg and vanilla, and continue beating to combine.
- Add dry ingredients to the stand mixer bowl, a little at a time, beating until well blended. Scrape the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- Roll equal-sized portions of dough into 1” balls; place rolled dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Use your thumb to press the center of each piece, creating a small divot.
- Drain maraschino cherries, reserving the juice. Place one cherry in the center of each cookie.
- In a small saucepan, combine chocolate chunks and sweetened condensed milk. Heat over low heat, stirring frequently, until chocolate is melted. Stir in 4 teaspoons of the leftover cherry juice; add more cherry juice if thinner frosting is desired.
- Spoon about 1 teaspoon of the chocolate frosting over each cherry, covering it completely.
- Bake at 350°F for about 10 minutes, or until done. Cool on a wire rack.
They sound wonderful! One question thought. They are frosted after baking? That is something I've never come across before and want to make sure it's correct before baking. Thanks!
They look really yummy. My cousin made a similar cookie but was a vanilla cookie,
How to store? How long?