Chocolate cherry cookies are soft, rich and topped with glossy chocolate ganache and maraschino cherries for an easy cookie that looks great without a lot of work.
These cookies start with a devil’s food cake mix, which keeps the recipe simple while still delivering deep chocolate flavor. Even as someone who doesn’t usually like chocolate-covered cherries, I kept going back for “just one more” cookie.
The ganache sounds fancier than it is. It’s simply warm cream poured over chocolate, creating a smooth topping that helps hold the cherries in place while making the cookies look extra festive.
If you really want to shortcut things, you can swap in chocolate frosting. But the ganache only takes a few minutes and gives these cookies a richer, more homemade flavor and texture.
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Before You Start: Tips for Success
Maraschino cherries are JUICY. Drain them (reserve the juice for fancy cocktails if you want) then place them on several layers of paper towels. Let them sit for a couple of hours, blotting occasionally, until they're as dry as possible before adding them to your cookies.
Immediately after removing the cookies from the oven, use your thumb or the end of a wine cork to make a small indentation in the top of each cookie so the cherry has a place to nestle.
Forget to make the indentation? No worries. The cherries will still sit at attention on top of the cookies and the ganache will help hold everything in place.
I was after a Black Forest Cake vibe with these cookies so I added a teensy bit of almond extract to the cookie dough and an even teensier amount to the ganache.
If you’re not a fan of almond extract, leave it out or swap it with vanilla extract. Even a small amount can be pretty noticeable in the ganache.
Let the cookies cool completely before topping with cherries and spooning over the ganache.
The ganache will need time to set, so plan on at least an hour, possibly two to three hours if you're transporting the cookies or packaging them for gifting.
If you're stacking or gifting the cookies, separate the layers with wax paper so each cookie keeps its ganache to itself.
Ingredient Notes
- 1 box Devil’s Food cake mix (15.25-ounce box preferred)
- 1 jar of maraschino cherries with stems, if possible. Reserve the juice for cocktails or mocktails. I first bought stemless cherries, but several were smashed and broken in the jar. The stemmed version cost the same and looked much prettier on top of the cookies. Not a huge deal since they’re covered in ganache anyway, but worth mentioning.
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup vegetable or canola oil (or substitute 1 stick melted butter)
- ⅛ teaspoon almond extract
Ganache
- ⅓ cup heavy cream
- 1 cup chocolate chips or chopped chocolate (I used milk chocolate, but semisweet or dark chocolate work too)
- 1/16 teaspoon almond extract (half of an ⅛ teaspoon)
Make Ganache in Three Easy Steps
More Cake Mix Cookie Recipes
If you're not familiar with turning a box of cake mix into a batch of cookies, find out what the cake mix cookie dough texture should feel like and look like.
If you love chocolate cookies, you'll probably like making cookies from a brownie mix.
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Recipe
Chocolate Cherry Cookies
Chocolate Cherry Cake Mix Cookies are soft, fudgy cookies made with Devil’s Food cake mix and topped with chocolate ganache and maraschino cherries for an easy dessert inspired by chocolate-covered cherries.
Ingredients
- 1 box Devil’s Food cake mix (15.25-ounce box preferred)
- 1 jar stemmed maraschino cherries, juice reserved
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup vegetable oil (or 1 stick melted butter)
- ⅛ teaspoon almond extract
- Ganache
- ⅓ cup heavy cream
- 1 cup chocolate chips or chopped chocolate
- 1/16 teaspoon almond extract (use ½ of an ⅛ teaspoon)
Instructions
While the dough chills, drain the maraschino cherries well and pat dry with paper towels.
Heat oven to 350F° degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
Scoop dough into balls and place on prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart.
Bake for 10 minutes or until the cookies are set. Create a cavity on top of each cookie with your thumb or the end of a wine cork. Let cool completely.
Place the chocolate chips or chopped chocolate in a heat-safe bowl.
Heat the heavy cream until steaming but not boiling, then pour over the chocolate. Add the almond extract, let sit for 2 minutes, then stir until smooth.
Top each cookie with a maraschino cherry.
Spoon ganache over each cookie.
Let the ganache set before serving or storing.
Notes
Use a #40 or #30 cookie scoop.
Stemmed maraschino cherries tend to hold up better and look prettier than stemless cherries, which can break apart in the jar.
Drain and pat the cherries dry well before topping the cookies so the ganache sets properly.
Make an indentation with your thumb or the end of a wine cork in each cookie when you remove from the oven. This will give a little space for the cherry to settle in. No worries if you miss this step.
The almond extract gives these cookies a slight Black Forest Cake vibe, but it can be strong in the ganache. Feel free to leave it out or substitute vanilla extract.
Let the cookies cool completely before adding ganache.
Separate layers with wax paper if stacking for storage.
Recommended Products
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Reynolds Kitchens Stay Flat Dispensing Parchment Paper for Baking and Roasting, Parchment Paper Roll, Great for Baking and Rolling Dough, Non-stick, Reusable Up to 3x, 45 Sq. Ft. -
Nordic Ware Naturals Half Sheet - USA Made Aluminum Commercial Quality Sheet Pan for Baking or Roasting, Encapsulated Galvanized Steel Rim Prevents Warping, 2-Pack
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Winco Ice Cream Disher with Purple Handle, Size 40, Stainless Steel
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Pyrex Smart Essentials 3-Piece Prepware Mixing Bowl Set, 1-Qt, 1.5-Qt ,and 2.5-Qt Glass Mixing Bowls, Dishwasher, Microwave and Freezer Safe
Nutrition Information
Yield 24 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 192Total Fat 11gSaturated Fat 4gUnsaturated Fat 7gCholesterol 20mgSodium 169mgCarbohydrates 25gFiber 1gSugar 15gProtein 2g
Nutrition information is an estimate because I am not a registered dietician nor do I play one on TV.
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