Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies
Nothing beats this recipe for cherry chocolate chip cookies when you’re craving something sweet. They’re different from any you’ve had before. While these may be thin chocolate chip cookies, they are 4½” in diameter. These bakery-style chocolate chip cookies are loaded with dried cherries and have a rippled, wavy appearance you’ll love.
These giant cherry cookies with chocolate chips are about way bigger than your average chocolate chipper with crispy edges and a chewy interior.
We love the blend of all purpose and whole wheat flour which lends a nuttier, more complex flavor to the cherry cookies recipe.
They are filled with dark chocolate chunks, tart-dried cherries and crunchy sliced almonds; my cherry chocolate chip cookies are super-thin with a distinctive rippled look that makes them irresistible.
Table of Contents
- The flavor and texture are amazing.
- These are BIG cookies; each one has one-third cup of dough.
- You can store the cookie dough in the refrigerator for up to a week and make fresh-baked chocolate-cherry cookies whenever you want.
- Store cookie rounds in the freezer for up to 2 months and bake them off as needed.
- Cookies are super thin, crispy and chewy all at once.
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Ingredients:
- Whole Wheat Flour
- All Purpose Flour
- Salt
- Baking Soda
- Butter
- Granulated Sugar
- Light Brown Sugar
- Egg
- Vanilla
- Water
- Dark Chocolate Bars or chocolate chips – I used 70% cocoa bars from Lindt
- Dried Cherries
- Sliced Almonds
These super-sized cookies have it all… Deep, bittersweet chocolate, sliced almonds for a little crunch and bits of puckery-sweet, dried cherries. Incidentally, when I say bittersweet chocolate, I mean deep dark – not from chips, but from two 70% cocoa bars.
- Choose baking sheets that will fit and lay flat in your freezer. Line the tray with parchment paper or the non-shiny side of aluminum foil. Set aside.
- Whisk the dry ingredients together in a bowl. (All Purpose and whole wheat flour, salt, baking soda. Set aside.
- In a large bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer, cream the butter, sugar and brown sugar until smooth. Add the egg, vanilla and water and mix to combine.
- Add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture and mix to combine and there are no dry bits left.
- Chop the chocolate bars into large chunks and add to the cookie dough.
- Roughly chop the dried cherries and almonds, add them to the dough and mix by hand or on low speed using your stand mixer.
- Scoop cookies into a one-third cup portion and roll them into a ball.
- Place the chocolate cherry cookies 4 inches apart on the baking sheet. (I did 2 cookies per tray).
- Freeze the cookies for 15 minutes.
- Transfer the cookie sheet directly to the preheated oven and bake for 10 minutes.
- Use an oven mitt to lift one side of the cookie sheet about 4″ and drop it. Repeat several times.
- Continue to bake the cookies for an additional 6-8 minutes until the outsides are crispy and the interiors are “not quite done”
- Let the chocolate cherry cookies rest on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Pro-Tips:
To scoop the dough, I use an extra-large cookie scoop that holds about one-third cup of dough OR a one-third cup measure.
To get the dough out of the measuring cup easily, I cut a small piece of parchment to fit the bottom of the cup.
Pack the dough into the measuring cup, then turn it out – you may have to tap it on the counter, but the parchment will prevent it from sticking.
Reuse the parchment to measure out each portion of dough.
The key to achieving the signature look of these cookies is threefold:
- First making a larger than normal sized ball of dough– about one-third cup of dough per cookie.
- Second, freezing the dough on the cookie sheet for about 15 minutes before popping it into the hot oven.
- Slamming the baking pan down about 8 times while baking to deflate the dough and send a wave-pool of action across the cookie.
It’s a slightly more involved process than your average chocolate chipper, but easy to do — and completely worth it.
Variations
- Swap the chocolate bars for dark chocolate chips or a different chip to change the flavor profile. You could easily make these cherry chip cookies with milk chocolate, peanut butter chips or white chocolate chips.
- Switch almonds for toasted pecans or walnuts. You can skip the nuts altogether if you don’t care for them.
- Use almond extract instead of vanilla.
- Make them gluten free by using gluten free flour that can be substituted cup for cup.
FAQ’s
Yes. Pat the cherries dry with paper towels and give them a rough chop before adding them to the cookie dough.
Yes. You can use regular flour if you don’t have or don’t want to use whole wheat.
Keep them in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-5 days.
No. You can store the cookie dough in an airtight container for up to a week and scoop out cookies as you want them to bake.
Yes. I recommend portioning the dough into ? cup increments and freezing them solid. Then transfer the dough balls to a zip-top freezer bag. They will keep in the freezer for up to 2 months.
To bake a cookie or two, preheat the oven and take the dough balls out of the freezer for about 15 minutes before baking to thaw slightly. Bake as usual.
How do they taste?
The whole wheat flour adds a complex nuttiness to the cookies, which is delicious against the dark chocolate and tart chewy dried cherries. We love the crunch from the sliced almonds too.
These cookies are super-thin with crispy edges and a chewy interior.
But it’s the size and look of the cookies that make you do a double-take. Each is about 4″-4 ½” in diameter, yet these chocolate chip cookies are thin.
My tasters couldn’t get enough. I admit I even got a few middle school followers on Instagram just because of how gloriously rippled this chocolate cherry cookie recipe came out.
You May Also Like These Awesome Chocolate Cookies:
- Chocolate Mint Meringue Kisses
- Chocolate Mocha Pecan Cookies
- Chewy Buckwheat Chocolate Chunk Cookies with Sea Salt
- Chocolate Mint Cookies
- Chewy Coconut Almond Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Salted Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Baileys Chocolate Irish Cream Cookies
- Soft n’ Chunky Peanut Butter Cookies with White Chocolate
- Chocolate Dipped Toasted Pecan Shortbread Cookies
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Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 cup white sugar
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 1 egg large
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons water
- 7 ounces dark chocolate I used two Lindt 70% cocoa bars, roughly chopped
- ½ cup dried cherries chopped
- 1 cup almonds sliced
DIRECTIONS:
- Preheat the oven to 350°. Line two baking sheets (that will fit in your freezer) with parchment paper or the non-shiny side of tin foil. Set aside.
- In a small bowl combine the a.p. flour, whole wheat flour, salt and baking soda. Whisk to combine and set aside.
FOR THE CHERRY CHIP COOKIE DOUGH
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Cream the butter and sugars until smooth. Add the egg vanilla and water and beat to incorporate, scraping the bowl down occasionally.
- Add the flour mixture to the butter and beat on low speed until just mixed. Add the dark chocolate, dried cherries and almonds and mix on low speed to combine.
- Scoop out one-third cup of dough and roll it into a ball. Place on the cookie sheet. Space the balls far enough apart so they don’t touch when they spread … about 4 inches. Place the cookie sheet in the freezer for 15 minutes.
BAKE CHOCOLATE CHIP CHERRY COOKIES
- Transfer the cold cookie sheet to the oven and bake for 10 minutes.
SLAM THE CHERRY CHOCOLATE COOKIES:
- Lift one side of the cookie sheet up about 4 inches and drop it down. Repeat.
- Cook for two minutes and repeat the process of lifting and dropping every two minutes until the cookies are crispy on the edges and not quite done in the middle, about 6-8 minutes longer.
- Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat the process with each batch of cookies.
NOTES:
NUTRITION:
Pin “Dark Chocolate Cherry Ripples” For Later!
What kind of dark chocolate- sweet, bittersweet, or unsweetened?
I used Lindt 70% Cocoa Bars. You can use whatever type of chocolate you like, but avoid unsweetened.
Can you provide the metric measurements?
Took me a little while to figure it out, but the metric breakdown is now clickable beneath the ingredient list in the recipe card. Just click “metric” and it will switch for you.
Just wondering if I can use all all purpose flour. Hosting a luncheon for my small sewing group and these cookies will be perfect .
Yes, all purpose will work fine.
I never realized that the wave pattern came from slamming down the pan. Since you mentioned it, it makes total sense, but I had never put it together!
As usual, this recipe appeals to me with all of my favorite flavors – especially the dark chocolate and the cherries! I’m in heaven and can’t wait to try these!
I had to read her recipe a few times to “get it”, but I’ll be darned if it didn’t work brilliantly!
Are these cookies huge or what?? I am obsessed with all of that chopped up chocolate!
They are about 4 1/2″ across – so that’s pretty huge in my book! The dark chocolate is fabulous in them!
Oh. My Gosh. You are speaking to my heart with this one! I love big, gourmet bakery style cookies such as these. They look so buttery and the combination of cherry with dark chocolate? Heavenly.
Thanks, Amanda — they’re a little more effort than your standard cookie, but then — THESE AREN’T YOUR STANDARD COOKIE!
Oh my goodness do these cookies look mighty fine! I love the deep deep dark chocolate and the cherries. What a delicious combination. I bet that these were the hit of the party. I can only imagine how quickly they were gone! 🙂
Yes, these were definitely a hit! And the cherry adds a nice tartness!
I will definitely be trying this method. The cookies are beautiful and I bet they taste amazing too! Great name by the way 🙂
Let me know how it works out for you, Katrina – and glad you like the name… Ripples are the perfect adjective, right?
Oh I just love the look of these cookies – me and Hungry Hubby both look chocolate and cherries, and I am so loving the thinnest of these cookies. They really do look wonderfully chewy 😀
We polished off the last of them last night!! So very good!
How yummy! Love the flavors that you added, and dark chocolate is my favorite!
This is so interesting. I have never heard of this method before. And I wonder how she ever thought to do this in the first place. But the results are clear – it works. Wow! I totally want to try this next time I make cookies (I just made cookies last night…if only I had seen this one day sooner!). Love the flavors here too!
I don’t know how she came up with it, but the results are impressive.
I have Sarah’s lovely cookbook and the ripple cookies never fail to capture my attention. They are just so unusual and so much fun. I’m loving your spin on them. I mean. . .you can never go wrong with a tasty treat chock full of cherries.
I know – that photo just kept me coming back again and again!
I love flat spread out cookies like this.. especially when they are big!! Love those ripples.
OMG those gorgeous ripples are calling my name!!
The ripples are what kept me coming back, too, Sue!
It’s hard to find a unique chocolate chip cookie recipe these days, but this is seriously blowing my mind! Those ripples not only look incredible, but I bet they add to the texture, too. Crisp edges and chewy centers are my absolutely favorite kind of cookie. Dark chocolate, cherries, almonds… and extra salt? Yes yes yes yes yes. I’m pinning these for the next time a cookie craving hits.
I felt the same way, which was why I HAD to make these!
This with a vanilla ice cream would be perfect!!
I would encourage that!
You are completely hilarious lol. A non-denominational cookie.. hahaha I love it! No divided households over this chocolate cherry wonderfulness! YUM
Thanks Sarah! The only fighting in this house is about who gets the last one!
I love super sized cookies…of course! I try to use dark chocolate in recipes as well. What great flavors! The instructions are so interesting too!
Glad you approve, Christine! The instructions baffled me at first, but the technique works!