These cherry cookies are my favorite variation of sugar cookies. Some links in this post are affiliate links that earn me a commission if you purchase through them.
It may be past Christmas now, but that doesn’t mean that the time for cookies is over. I hope I’m not the only one who makes them year-round!
For the cookie swap this year, I already shared my apricot crescent cookies which were so much fun. The other cookie I made this time was a cherry cookie.
I wasn’t very inspired by anything this year, at least not until Mister Man suggested that I make cherry cookies. Suddenly, I remembered my favorite cookie from a child.
I have no idea what it’s called, but it’s the one that came in a blue round tin with all sorts of other cookies. It was a round cookie buttery cookie with almost a scallop design. And a cherry in the center.
I ate around that cherry every single time and then popped the best part in my mouth. I decided to make a takeoff of that for the cookie swap, using a sugar cookie-type base and this time spreading out the love of the cherries so that every bite was equally yummy.
And they were.
How to Make Cherry Cookies
Drain and rinse the maraschino cherries. Finely chop the entire jar into nice bite-size pieces.
Beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla, and again, beat well.
Add the baking powder and salt and mix until combined. Add the flour and stir until just mixed. The dough will be thick and crumby. That’s fine.
Add the cherries and stir until they are distributed within the dough.
Turn the dough out onto two pieces of plastic wrap. Form a log with each half, wrapped in plastic wrap.
Try to get it round, as you’ll be slicing your cookies from here, and they retain their shape fairly well. For the same reason, you want your log to be the same diameter throughout.
If one log is longer than the other, however, that is not an issue. Trust me, I speak from experience.
Make sure the plastic wrap is sealing the dough inside well so that it doesn’t dry out. Chill the dough for at least two hours and up to overnight.
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
Remove the plastic wrap, and slice the dough into 1/4-inch slices. Place on cookie sheets that have silpats, parchment paper, or are lightly greased.
Keep the dough that is not baking in the fridge so that it stays cold. These cookies do not spread a ton, so you can place them closer together than you can many other cookies. They puff up instead, which I like.
Bake at 400 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes, until they’re just starting to turn a beautiful golden brown. Let cool for a couple of minutes on the cookie sheet, then remove to cool completely on a wire rack.
These will be kept in a sealed container for several days.
Cherry Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 3/4 cups flour
- 1 16 ounces jar maraschino cherries
Instructions
- Drain and rinse maraschino cherries, then finely chop.
- Beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla, beating again.1 cup unsalted butter, 1 cup sugar, 1 egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
- Add baking powder and salt, then mix until combined. Add flour and stir until just mixed.1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 2 3/4 cups flour
- Add cherries and stir just until distributed within the dough.1 16 ounces jar maraschino cherries
- Turn dough out onto two pieces of plastic wrap. Form a round log with each half about 2 inches in diameter, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap.
- Chill dough for at least two hours and up to overnight.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Remove plastic wrap, and slice dough into 1/4 inch thick slices. Place on cookie sheets that have silpats, parchment paper or are lightly greased. Keep dough that is not baking in the fridge so that it stays cold.
- Bake at 400 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes, until they’re just starting to turn a beautiful golden brown.
- Let cool 2-3 minutes on the cookie sheet, then remove to cool completely on a wire rack. These keep in a sealed container for several days.
Notes
- These cookies do not spread a ton, so you can place them closer together than you can many other cookies. They puff up instead, which I like.
- For more tips and tricks, be sure to read the full article above.
Nutrition
This site uses an online source to provide nutrition estimates as a courtesy. If you need exact values, please calculate yourself.
Have you ever made cherry cookies?
I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
Mister Man had a great idea. These cookies sound wonderful. I wonder if fresh cherries would work too.
can i use sweet cherries?
I’m not entirely sure what you mean by sweet cherries, but I’ll assume you mean fresh cherries. In that case, they will not work, as they will release too much juice while baking and will create a soggy cookie at best. The maraschino cherries do not release juice as they cook, which is why they work for this recipe.
I did this recipe last weekend and the cookies were fab! My only issue is that they did not puff up and instead spread out.. maybe I went wrong somewhere but I am going to try again! (I did have to convert some measurements as I’m in the UK so that could be where I made mistakes) but any extra advice is appreciated 🙂
I’m glad you enjoyed them. Some measurement conversions may be a part of it, but it’s hard to say exactly why without being in the kitchen with you. Some ideas I have that would make the cookies spread too much:
My first theory is the butter – UK butter is (better than butter in the States) higher in fat AND sold in a slightly larger quantity per stick. You may want to try using a tablespoon less of butter and a tablespoon of milk instead – which I know seems counterintuitive, but it’s the higher water content in US butter that is what you’re missing in the UK, lucky you! Or add a bit more flour (see below) AND defintely make sure you are chilling these and keeping the slices cold, too, until they go into the oven.
My second most logical theory is the cherries – if you don’t drain them and dry them before you chop them, the cherry juice remaining adds too much liquid to the dough, and they’ll definitely spread.
It may not be quite enough flour, so try adding a bit more there. It also may be the butter, but I’m assuming you used softened butter and not melted butter (melted butter does NOT work in this recipe).
I hope this helps!