If you love cherries, and you love chocolate, you are going to love these Cherry Chocolate Kiss cookies!
These cookies are a Christmas tradition in my family. I remember my mom making them every year around Christmas time, along with her soft lemon shortbread cookies (trying to get my hands on that recipe). Come to think of it, I just realized why I love shortbread cookies so much…seems like my mom does too!
Shortbread cookies are not quite as sweet as a typical cookie. I would label this recipe as more of a pseudo-shortbread cookie because they do not have a crumbly texture as shortbread cookies customarily do. The dough itself isn’t overly sweet (you can always add more powdered sugar if you prefer). However, once you add chopped maraschino cherries, cherry juice, sprinkled sugar, and a chocolate kiss to top it off; I think it is the perfect balance of sweet cookie goodness.
Now that I have a family of my own, and two teenage man-children, these cookies don’t last more than two days in my house. That’s being generous. haha! I end up making these a few times during the December and January holidays, and then again for Valentine’s Day.
I love these cookies so much that I would happily eat a pile of them instead of a birthday cake. The dough is just as delicious (and egg-free), so eat that beautiful dough to your heart’s content! I hope you enjoy these Cherry Chocolate Kiss Cookies, as much as me and my family does. Happy Baking!
Love,
Kelly ~ Simple Home Bliss
Cherry Chocolate Kiss Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter *cool, softened (make sure not to keep out too long, you want the butter cool
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon salt *do not add this if you use salted butter (unsalted preffered)
- 4 teaspoons juice from maraschino cherry jar
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract *still tastes great if you substitute vanilla extract
- 2 and ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup maraschino cherries, chopped *this is a great time to use that chopper tool if you have one. Reduces the mess.
- 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar, for sprinkling *this amount may vary depending on your sweetness preference
- 24 milk chocolate kisses, unwrapped *maybe a few more for snacking haha
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees ℉.
- In a standing mixer (or a handheld) beat the softened butter at medium speed for about one minute, until creamy.
- Reduce your mixer speed to low and slowly add powdered sugar and salt to your creamed butter.
- Add 1 Tbsp. cherry juice from the maraschino cherry jar.
- Next, mix in almond extract (or vanilla extract) until combined.
- Keep the mixer speed low, and slowly add in the all-purpose flour a little bit at a time.
- Increase the mixer speed to medium, and add in the chopped maraschino cherries to the dough mixture. The dough will turn a pretty pink color.
- Once all of the ingredients are combined, shape the dough into 1-inch balls, and place on a cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.
- Gently press in the center of each cookie using your thumb or back of a tsp measuring spoon, until the cookie is about ¾ of an inch thick. This creates a spot for the chocolate kiss after the cookies have been baked.
- Before placing the cookies in the oven, sprinkle with a pinch of granulated sugar.
- Bake the cookies for 12-14 minutes, or until the bottoms of the cookies are slightly brown.
- Remove cookie tray from the oven and gently press a chocolate kiss into the center of each cookie.
- Place the cookies on a cooling rack to cool for about 8-10 minutes before eating.
Notes
- Substitute the almond extract for vanilla extract if there is a nut allergy, or you don’t have it on hand. You won’t notice the difference.
Some links on this website are affiliate links, meaning I may earn a small commission if you purchase through these links, at no extra cost to you. This helps support my work and allows me to continue creating helpful content. I only recommend products and services I use, trust, or believe will add value to my readers. I appreciate your support! Kelly ~ Simple Home Bliss
