Amazing Chocolate Cherry Cookies with a Dark Chocolate Ganache Center

I love chocolate-covered cherries, and that’s exactly what inspired these chocolate cherry cookies. I wanted to take that familiar combination of chocolate and cherry and turn it into a giant bakery-style cookie with a rich chocolate center.

These aren’t cookies with a whole cherry tucked inside. Instead, I use freeze-dried cherries throughout the chocolate dough, along with dark chocolate chips, cherry extract, and almond extract. Then I wrap the dough around a frozen mound of dark chocolate ganache.

I consider these a Christmas cookie. Chocolate-covered cherries just feel like a Christmas flavor to me, so this combination fits right in with holiday baking. Of course, there’s no reason you have to wait until December to make chocolate cherry cookies!

What Goes into My Chocolate Cherry Cookies

There’s chocolate in the dough, chocolate chips mixed throughout, and ganache in the middle. These are definitely for someone who wants a rich chocolate cookie, with little bursts of tart cherry to go along with it.

The freeze-dried cherries are an important part of these chocolate cherry cookies. Roughly chop them so you still have recognizable pieces rather than crushing them into powder. You want those bits of cherry scattered through the dough.

Use freeze-dried cherries rather than substituting fresh, frozen, or maraschino cherries directly. Those ingredients bring different amounts of moisture, and changing them would mean testing the dough again.

The cherry and almond extracts help bring in the flavor I was looking for. I use both, along with vanilla, rather than relying on the cherries alone.

For the ganache, you can use dark or semisweet chocolate. Dark chocolate keeps the filling closer to the flavor of the dark chocolate chips, while semisweet gives you another option using the same measurements.

Chocolate Cherry Cookies Recipe

Active prep time: Approximately 30 minutes, excluding chilling and freezing time.

Yield: Approximately 2 dozen giant 5-ounce cookies or about 6 dozen regular-sized cookies, consistent with my other cookie recipes.

Cookie size: Giant bakery-style cookies, using approximately 5 ounces of dough plus filling per cookie.

Bake time: Approximately 16 to 18 minutes at 325°F above 4,000 feet. At lower elevations, try 350°F and use the doneness cues below, checking early.

Additional time: Allow 1 to 2 hours to chill the ganache, at least 30 to 60 minutes to freeze the centers, and 10 to 15 minutes of cooling on the baking sheet.

Print Recipe

Ingredients for the dark chocolate cherry dough

• 3 cups packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup butter, melted and slightly cooled
• 1 cup margarine, melted and slightly cooled
• 5 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 tablespoons cherry extract
• 2 teaspoons almond extract
• 4 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
• 6 to 7 cups all-purpose flour, leveled (start with 6 cups and add more only if needed)
• 3 cups dark chocolate chips
• 2 cups freeze-dried cherries, roughly chopped
• Milk, only if needed to adjust dry dough, added 1 tablespoon at a time

For the tops

• About 1 cup freeze-dried cherries, roughly chopped
• Additional dark chocolate chips, if desired

For the dark chocolate ganache centers

• 12 ounces dark or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Make the ganache centers

1. Place the finely chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl.
2. Heat the heavy cream just until steaming and beginning to simmer around the edges. Don’t let it boil.
3. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let it sit for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir gently until the chocolate is completely melted and the ganache is smooth.
4. Refrigerate until the ganache is very firm and scoopable, about 1 to 2 hours.
5. Scoop approximately 2 teaspoons of ganache for each giant cookie and shape into small balls or mounds.
6. Place the centers on a parchment-lined plate or baking sheet. Freeze for at least 30 to 60 minutes, or until completely firm. Keep frozen until you’re ready to stuff the cookies.

Make the cookie dough

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. If you’re baking at an elevation above 4,000 feet, try 325°F instead. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the melted butter, melted margarine, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Mix until smooth and well combined.
3. Add the eggs, vanilla extract, cherry extract, and almond extract. Mix until fully incorporated.
4. Add the baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. Mix until the cocoa is evenly incorporated and no dry pockets remain.
5. Gradually add the flour, starting with 6 cups. Mix just until combined. Add more flour a little at a time only if the dough is too sticky to handle.
6. Fold in the 3 cups dark chocolate chips and 2 cups roughly chopped freeze-dried cherries. The dough should be soft and easy to handle without sticking heavily to your hands. If it becomes too dry, add milk 1 tablespoon at a time until it returns to the right consistency.
7. Shape, fill, and bake one test cookie using the instructions below before portioning the entire batch. If it spreads too much, add a little additional flour to the remaining dough. If it doesn’t spread enough or seems dry, adjust with a small amount of milk.

Stuff, shape, and bake

1. For each giant cookie, portion approximately 5 ounces of cookie dough. Divide the portion roughly in half and flatten one piece into a thick disc.
2. Place one frozen ganache center in the middle. Cover with the remaining dough and bring the edges together.
3. Carefully shape the dough around the ganache until the filling is completely enclosed. Seal any cracks or openings. Don’t leave a vent.
4. Gently press additional dark chocolate chips and pieces of freeze-dried cherry into the top.
5. Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheet, leaving plenty of space between them.
6. Above 4,000 feet, bake at 325°F for approximately 16 to 18 minutes. At lower elevations, try 350°F and check early. The edges should be set and the tops should no longer look wet, while the centers still look slightly soft.
7. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 10 to 15 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. They’ll continue to set as they cool.
8. If desired, gently press a few more pieces of freeze-dried cherry and dark chocolate chips into the tops while the cookies are still warm.

My Tips for the Ganache Center and Soft Cookie Dough

Keep the centers frozen. When you’re stuffing chocolate cherry cookies, take out only the ganache you’re ready to use. A firm center is easier to wrap, and freezing helps delay melting while the dough begins to bake.

Seal every opening. The filling needs to be completely enclosed. Check the bottom and sides as well as the top, especially where you joined the two pieces of dough.

Start with 6 cups of flour. These chocolate cherry cookies already contain 1 1/2 cups of cocoa powder, so don’t automatically add the full 7 cups. Check how the dough feels first. It should be soft and manageable rather than dry and crumbly.

If you’d like a little help with measuring, King Arthur Baking has a useful guide to measuring flour accurately. It shows how to fill and level a measuring cup without packing in extra flour.

Don’t skip the test cookie. One test gives you a chance to adjust the remaining dough before you’ve shaped the whole batch. Use the same size and filling amount you plan to use for the rest of your chocolate cherry cookies.

Mix gently after adding flour. Mix just until the dough comes together, then fold in the chips and cherries without continuing to beat it.

Let them set before moving them. Giant chocolate cherry cookies need that time on the baking sheet. Moving them too soon can cause them to break while they’re still soft.

For more help with dough consistency, altitude adjustments, and baking times, take a look at my Tips for the Perfect Cookie.

For smaller cookies, use less dough and a smaller portion of ganache, then reduce the baking time. Use a test cookie to find the timing for your chosen size rather than relying on the giant-cookie bake time.

Storing and Freezing Chocolate Cherry Cookies

I generally prefer freezing my baked cookies rather than refrigerating them because I’ve found refrigeration tends to dry them out. For these chocolate cherry cookies, the cream-based filling also needs consideration.

As a conservative home-storage approach, refrigerate or freeze these filled cookies within two hours of baking, allowing them to cool promptly first. Keep refrigerated cookies at 40°F or below and use within 3 to 4 days, or freeze for longer storage. This follows general perishable-food guidance rather than a tested room-temperature shelf life for this particular recipe. You can read more in the USDA’s food storage and handling guidance.

For freezing, let the chocolate cherry cookies firm up in the freezer, then package them individually and place them in freezer bags. Remove as much air as possible before sealing. Thaw in the refrigerator, and warm briefly before serving if you’d like a softer chocolate center.

For me, these chocolate cherry cookies belong on a Christmas cookie plate, but I’d be just as happy to make them when a chocolate-and-cherry craving comes along in the middle of the year. That’s part of the fun of creating a recipe around something you already love.

Do chocolate-covered cherries feel like a Christmas treat to you, too?

Making every house feel a little more like home.