Chocolate Cherry Amaretto Cookies
These chocolate cherry amaretto cookies are the definition of rich and indulgent! They're made with an amaretto cookie dough base filled with chunks of dark chocolate, juicy fresh cherries, and drizzled with an amaretto icing.
Servings: 14 cookies
Ingredients
For the cookies:
- ½ cup butter room temp
- ¾ cup light brown sugar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg room temp
- 1½ tbsp amaretto
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¾ tsp salt
- 4 oz dark chocolate chopped
- ½ cup chopped cherries
For the icing:
- 4 tbsp powdered sugar
- 2-3 tsp amaretto
Instructions
- Pit, chop, and dry the cherries until you have ½ cup. The cherries should be as dry as possible otherwise the dough will turn purple when you mix it.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars until fully mixed and fluffy. Add in the egg and beat until combined, then mix in the amaretto and vanilla extract.
- Add the flour, baking soda, and salt to the bowl and mix until just combined. Don't overmix!
- Gently fold in the chocolate and cherries until just incorporated.
- Scoop the cookie dough evenly into 12-14 balls and place them on the baking sheet. Chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour or covered overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Arrange the cookies at least 2 inches apart on the baking sheet, then bake for 12-14 minutes or until edges have browned but the centers are still gooey.
- Use a large cup or round cookie cutter to scoot the cookies into even circles, then let them rest at room temperature for at least 5 minutes to finish baking.
- Mix the powdered sugar and amaretto together to make the icing, then drizzle on top before serving.
Notes
- Utilize mise en place! Make sure you have all of your ingredients prepped and ready before you begin making this recipe - it will help save you time and keep you organized.
- Don’t skip the chill time. If you bake these cookies at room temperature, the butter will melt too quickly and the cookies will spread too much. Chilling the dough in the fridge for at least an hour before baking will help the cookies keep their puffy shape better!
- Dry the cherries. Unless you want your cookies to turn purple, be sure to dry the cherries thoroughly with a paper towel, and very gently fold them into the dough instead of mixing them in a stand mixer.
- Add some nuts. A crunchy walnut or slivered almonds would taste delicious in these cookies!
- Use your favorite chocolate. I'm partial to dark chocolate when pairing with cherries, but semisweet or even white chocolate would be great choices, too.