There’s something truly magical about a cookie that feels both cozy and elegant, don’t you think? For me, that’s exactly what these Dried Cherry Chocolate Chunk Cookies embody. Imagine crisp, golden edges giving way to a wonderfully chewy center, loaded with rich dark chocolate chunks and bright pops of tart dried cherry. It’s a true comfort food recipe that turns a simple baking session into a moment of pure joy, straight from your oven.
If you love filling your kitchen with the smells of the season, this easy one-bowl dough is a dream for your holiday baking. It’s my go-to when I want to create homemade cookies that feel special. They offer a beautiful twist on classic Christmas cookies recipes, and if you’re searching for unique Christmas cookies or fresh Christmas dessert ideas, look no further. They’ve become a star among my Christmas baking ideas.
Honestly, these are some of my favorite holiday treats to share. They add a lovely, sophisticated touch to any platter and are always met with delight. Whether you’re compiling ideas for Christmas sweets or simply want to bake something memorable, these Dried Cherry Chocolate Chunk Cookies are a guaranteed way to spread a little extra cheer.
Nothing beats a great Dried Cherry Chocolate Chunk Cookies. Whether you're a fan of Christmas Cookie or want to try something from our Drinks selection, keep scrolling!
Why You’ll Love This Dried Cherry Chocolate Chunk Cookies
- Perfect Flavor Balance: Bittersweet chocolate and tart cherries create a satisfying, grown-up bite.
- Irresistible Texture: Crisp edges and a soft, gooey center with melty chocolate and chewy fruit.
- Surprisingly Simple: Straightforward, one-bowl dough with pantry staples.
- Feels Fancy: Impressive bakery-style cookies perfect for gifting or treating yourself.
Ingredients & Tools
- 115 g unsalted butter, softened
- 100 g granulated sugar
- 110 g light brown sugar, packed
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 180 g all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 170 g dark chocolate, chopped into chunks
- 100 g dried cherries (not cherry-flavored cranberries)
Tools: A large mixing bowl, a hand mixer or whisk, a spatula, a baking sheet, and parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
Notes: Don’t skip the brown sugar—it’s key for chewiness and flavor. Chopping your own chocolate bar creates better melt than pre-made chips.
Nutrition (per serving)
| Calories: | 210 kcal |
| Protein: | 2.5 g |
| Fat: | 10 g |
| Carbs: | 30 g |
| Fiber: | 1.5 g |
Serves: 12 | Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 10-12 min | Total Time: 1 hr 30 min (includes chilling)
Before You Start: Tips & Ingredient Notes
- Soften Your Butter Correctly. Your butter should be cool to the touch but soft enough that you can easily make an indentation with your finger. If it’s melted or greasy, your cookies will spread too much. Leaving it on the counter for about 45 minutes usually does the trick.
- The Chocolate Matters. Use a good-quality dark chocolate bar (around 60-70% cacao works beautifully) and chop it yourself. You’ll get a mix of fine shavings that melt into the dough and larger chunks for those big, melty bites. It’s a game-changer, I promise.
- Don’t Skip the Chill. I know, I know—it’s the hardest part. But chilling the dough is non-negotiable. It allows the flour to fully hydrate and the butter to firm up, which prevents your cookies from spreading into thin, flat puddles in the oven. It also deepens the flavors.
- Use Real Dried Cherries. Seek out dried Montmorency cherries if you can. They have a true tart cherry flavor, unlike the sweeter, cherry-flavored cranberries often sold as “dried cherries.” That authentic tartness is what creates the magic balance with the chocolate.
How to Make Dried Cherry Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Step 1: Start by creaming your softened butter with both the granulated and brown sugars. Use a hand mixer on medium speed for about 2-3 minutes. You’re not just mixing; you’re incorporating air. The mixture should become noticeably paler in color and look fluffy. This is the foundation for a good texture, so don’t rush it.
Step 2: Beat in the egg and vanilla extract. Add the egg and the vanilla to the butter-sugar mixture. Mix on medium until everything is completely combined, pausing to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. The mixture might look a little curdled at first, but it will come together smoothly—this is normal.
Step 3: Whisk your dry ingredients. In a separate, smaller bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. This ensures the leavening and salt are evenly distributed throughout the flour, so you don’t get a bitter bite of baking soda in one cookie and a bland one in the next.
Step 4: Combine wet and dry ingredients. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in two additions, mixing on low speed until just combined after each. You’ll want to stop mixing the moment you no longer see streaks of flour. Overmixing at this stage develops gluten and can lead to tough cookies.
Step 5: Fold in the goodies. Now for the best part! Switch to your spatula and gently fold in the dark chocolate chunks and the dried cherries. You want them evenly distributed without overworking the dough. The dough will be quite soft and sticky—this is exactly what you want.
Step 6: Chill the dough. This is the secret step. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough for at least 1 hour, or up to 48 hours. The dough will firm up significantly. If you’re in a rush, you can scoop the dough into balls first and then chill them—this can sometimes shave 15 minutes off the chilling time.
Step 7: Preheat and portion. When you’re ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a cookie scoop or two spoons, portion the dough into balls roughly 3 tablespoons in size. Place them about 3 inches apart on the baking sheet to allow for spreading.
Step 8: Bake to perfection. Bake for 10-12 minutes. The cookies are done when the edges are set and lightly golden, but the centers still look soft, puffy, and slightly underdone. They will continue to cook on the hot baking sheet after you take them out. For extra-decadent cookies, you can press a few extra chocolate chunks onto the tops right as they come out of the oven.
Step 9: The final, crucial rest. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack. I know it’s tempting, but moving them too early can cause them to fall apart. This cooling period on the sheet is what sets their structure and gives you that perfect chewy texture.
Storage & Freshness Guide
- Fridge: Store baked cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
- Freezer: Freeze dough balls for up to 3 months; bake from frozen, adding 1–2 minutes.
- Reviving: Warm cookies in a 300°F oven for 3–5 minutes to restore crisp edges and soft center.
Serving Suggestions
Complementary Dishes
- A simple cheese board — The salty, creamy notes of a good brie or aged cheddar provide a stunning savory counterpoint to the sweet and tart cookies, making for a sophisticated dessert spread.
- Vanilla bean ice cream — Create the ultimate cookie sundae by sandwiching a scoop of high-quality vanilla ice cream between two slightly warm cookies. The contrast of temperatures and textures is heavenly.
Drinks
- Black coffee or a strong espresso — The bitterness of the coffee cuts through the richness of the chocolate and highlights the fruity notes of the cherry, cleansing your palate between each delightful bite.
- A glass of cold whole milk — It’s a classic for a reason. The creamy, cool milk is the perfect partner to a warm, chewy cookie, creating that timeless, comforting combination we all love.
- A bold Cabernet Sauvignon — If you’re feeling fancy, the dark fruit and tannic structure of a good Cabernet can stand up to the dark chocolate and mirror the deep, jammy flavors of the dried cherries.
Something Sweet
- Lemon sorbet — The bright, zesty punch of lemon sorbet is a fantastic palate-cleanser after the deep, rich flavors of the cookie, leaving you feeling refreshed and ready for another one.
Top Mistakes to Avoid
- Mistake: Using melted butter. This is probably the number one reason cookies spread too much. Melted butter heats up too quickly in the oven, causing the dough to slump before it has a chance to set. You lose that lovely thick, chewy center.
- Mistake: Skipping the dough chill. I’ve messed this up before too, in a moment of impatient hunger. Trust me, warm dough equals flat, greasy cookies. Chilling is what gives you control over the spread and allows the flavors to meld beautifully.
- Mistake: Overbaking. Your cookies will not look “done” when you take them out of the oven, and that’s the point! They set up as they cool. If you wait for them to look fully baked on the sheet, you’ll end up with dry, crunchy cookies instead of soft, chewy ones.
- Mistake: Using chocolate chips instead of chunks. Chocolate chips are designed to hold their shape, which means they don’t melt into those beautiful, rippled pools. Chopping a bar of chocolate gives you a variety of sizes for a much more dynamic texture and flavor distribution.
Expert Tips
- Tip: Weigh your flour. If you scoop your flour directly from the bag with a measuring cup, you’re likely packing in too much, leading to dry, cakey cookies. For perfect results every time, use a kitchen scale. It’s the single best investment for a consistent baker.
- Tip: Add a sprinkle of flaky salt. Right when the cookies come out of the oven, give them a light sprinkle of flaky sea salt. It enhances the chocolate flavor and makes the sweetness of the cherries pop in the most incredible way.
- Tip: Make the dough ahead. This dough actually gets better with time. You can make it up to 3 days in advance and keep it covered in the fridge. The flavors deepen and mature, resulting in an even more complex and delicious cookie.
- Tip: For a crispier cookie, flatten the dough balls. If you prefer a thinner, crispier cookie, gently press down on the chilled dough balls right before baking. For the classic thick and chewy cookie, leave them as tall, rustic balls.
FAQs
Can I use frozen cherries instead of dried?
I wouldn’t recommend it. Frozen cherries contain a lot of water, which will release during baking and make your cookies soggy and prevent them from spreading properly. The concentrated, chewy texture of dried cherries is essential for this recipe. If you’re in a pinch, you could try using another dried fruit like cranberries or chopped apricots, but the unique tart-sweet cherry flavor will be missed.
Why are my cookies cakey and puffy?
This usually happens from using too much flour or overmixing the dough after adding the flour. When you overmix, you develop the gluten in the flour, which gives the cookies more structure and a cake-like crumb. Remember to mix until *just* combined and consider weighing your flour for accuracy. Also, check that your baking soda is fresh, as old leavening can sometimes behave unpredictably.
Can I freeze the cookie dough?
Absolutely! This is a fantastic make-ahead trick. Scoop the dough into balls and freeze them solid on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Once frozen, transfer the dough balls to a zip-top freezer bag. You can bake them straight from the freezer—just add 1-2 minutes to the baking time. It’s like having fresh, warm cookies on demand for up to 3 months.
My cookies spread too much. What happened?
The most common culprits are butter that was too warm or melted, not chilling the dough long enough, or an oven that isn’t hot enough. Make sure your butter is just softened, not greasy, and always chill the dough for the full hour. It’s also a good idea to check your oven temperature with an independent thermometer to ensure it’s accurately preheated.
Can I use milk or white chocolate instead?
You can, but it will change the character of the cookie completely. The bittersweet depth of dark chocolate is what creates that perfect balance with the tart cherries. Milk or white chocolate will make the cookies much sweeter, and you might lose that sophisticated flavor profile. If you do switch, I’d recommend using a chopped bar rather than chips for the best texture.
Dried Cherry Chocolate Chunk Cookies: A Chewy Holiday Treat
Dried Cherry Chocolate Chunk Cookies are the ultimate chewy chocolate cherry cookies. This elegant, bakery-style treat is a perfect holiday dessert idea for your Christmas baking.
Ingredients
For the Ingredients
-
115 g unsalted butter (softened)
-
100 g granulated sugar
-
110 g light brown sugar (packed)
-
1 large egg (at room temperature)
-
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
-
180 g all-purpose flour
-
0.5 tsp baking soda
-
0.5 tsp kosher salt
-
170 g dark chocolate (chopped into chunks)
-
100 g dried cherries (not cherry-flavored cranberries)
Instructions
-
Start by creaming your softened butter with both the granulated and brown sugars. Use a hand mixer on medium speed for about 2-3 minutes. You’re not just mixing; you’re incorporating air. The mixture should become noticeably paler in color and look fluffy. This is the foundation for a good texture, so don’t rush it.01
-
Beat in the egg and vanilla extract. Add the egg and the vanilla to the butter-sugar mixture. Mix on medium until everything is completely combined, pausing to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. The mixture might look a little curdled at first, but it will come together smoothly—this is normal.02
-
Whisk your dry ingredients. In a separate, smaller bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. This ensures the leavening and salt are evenly distributed throughout the flour, so you don’t get a bitter bite of baking soda in one cookie and a bland one in the next.03
-
Combine wet and dry ingredients. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in two additions, mixing on low speed until just combined after each. You’ll want to stop mixing the moment you no longer see streaks of flour. Overmixing at this stage develops gluten and can lead to tough cookies.04
-
Fold in the goodies. Now for the best part! Switch to your spatula and gently fold in the dark chocolate chunks and the dried cherries. You want them evenly distributed without overworking the dough. The dough will be quite soft and sticky—this is exactly what you want.05
-
Chill the dough. This is the secret step. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough for at least 1 hour, or up to 48 hours. The dough will firm up significantly. If you’re in a rush, you can scoop the dough into balls first and then chill them—this can sometimes shave 15 minutes off the chilling time.06
-
Preheat and portion. When you’re ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a cookie scoop or two spoons, portion the dough into balls roughly 3 tablespoons in size. Place them about 3 inches apart on the baking sheet to allow for spreading.07
-
Bake to perfection. Bake for 10-12 minutes. The cookies are done when the edges are set and lightly golden, but the centers still look soft, puffy, and slightly underdone. They will continue to cook on the hot baking sheet after you take them out. For extra-decadent cookies, you can press a few extra chocolate chunks onto the tops right as they come out of the oven.08
-
The final, crucial rest. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack. I know it’s tempting, but moving them too early can cause them to fall apart. This cooling period on the sheet is what sets their structure and gives you that perfect chewy texture.09
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