Cherry Chocolate Shortbread Cookies are soft, buttery, and rich, making them perfect for holidays or anytime you’re craving a treat!
Shortbread Cookies are one of those Cookie Recipes that only need a few simple ingredients to be amazing, and you can change them as easily with one or two ingredients. From classic Scottish Shortbread to Cranberry Chip, there’s a shortbread recipe for every occasion!
Sabrina’s Cherry Chocolate Shortbread Cookies Recipe
Shortbreads are an old-fashioned cookie that never goes out of style! You can enjoy shortbread cookies all year long, but they are especially tasty during the winter with a cup of Hot Cocoa or black tea to dunk them in. These easy chocolate shortbread cookies take a basic 3-ingredient recipe and add a few items from your pantry for an extra special treat.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup maraschino cherries , drained
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter , softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 cup flour
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 and line a half sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Dry the cherries with a paper towel really well then coarsely chop.
- Add butter, vanilla and powdered sugar to a stand mixer and cream on high speed for 1-2 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Lower speed to the lowest setting and add in the flour and cocoa powder slowly until just combined.
- Fold in the cherries and mini chocolate chips.
- Roll the mixture into a 2 inch wide log and wrap with plastic wrap.
- Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Cut into ½ thick slices and bake for 20 minutes.
Nutrition
Want to save this recipe? Create a free account to easily save your favorite recipes
Table of contents
About this Recipe
Cherry Chocolate Shortbread Cookies sound like a fancy cookie recipe, but they are actually very simple to make. The key to perfect shortbread cookies is to chill your dough completely before slicing and baking. Chilling first keeps your cookies from spreading as they bake, so you get even, round Chocolate Cherry Shortbread Cookies every time.
Chef’s Note: Dry Cherries
This Cherry Chocolate Shortbread Cookie recipe uses maraschino cherries that are sweet, chewy, and slightly tart. Be sure to drain the cherries and dry them thoroughly before adding them to the cookie dough. If your cherries are too wet, the texture of the cookies won’t have that buttery smoothness that’s oh so addicting. You could also use red and green candied cherries instead for a Christmas-themed cookie.
Key Ingredients
- Maraschino Cherries: Maraschino cherries are preserved cherries soaked in a sweet syrup. They add a burst of sweet cherry flavor to these chocolate shortbread cookies. They need to be dried and any excess syrup removed so the cookie dough isn’t too wet.
- Butter: Butter is a must-have ingredient in shortbread cookies and adds richness and moisture for a soft and tender crumb. It also gives these cookies their signature buttery taste that shines through the chocolatey flavors.
- Vanilla: The vanilla extract adds a warm and aromatic note to the cookies, bringing together the chocolate and cherry flavors.
- Powdered Sugar: The fine texture of powdered sugar helps to create a smooth dough and gives the perfect amount of sweetness throughout the cookies.
- Cocoa Powder: Just a couple of tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder is needed to fill these cookies with a rich chocolate flavor.
- Chocolate Chips: The mini size of the chocolate chips ensures even distribution throughout the dough, creating pockets of melty chocolate goodness in every bite. You can substitute regular-sized for the mini chocolate chips if needed.
Can This Be Made Ahead of Time?
You can make dough ahead of time and bake the cookies later. After you prepare the cookie dough and roll it into a log shape, wrap the cookie dough in plastic wrap and store it in a freezer-safe bag. Leave at room temperature for a few minutes while the oven preheats, then slice from frozen and bake. You can also slice the cookie dough into disks, freeze the disks on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet until solid. Store in a freezer container with plastic wrap or wax paper between layers. The dough will stay good, properly stored, for up to 4 months in the freezer. You can bake the cookies from frozen, adding about 2-3 minutes to the baking time, or thaw overnight in the fridge first before baking as usual.
How to Store
- Serve: You can keep these cookies at room temperature for up to 1 week in a sealed container. Keep a paper towel in the bottom of the container to absorb moisture and keep these buttery cookies soft.
- Store: Cool cookies completely before you store them in an airtight container. You can store Chocolate Cherry Shortbread Cookies in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
- Freeze: Freeze cookies on parchment-lined cookie sheets in a single layer for an hour. Transfer cookies to an airtight container and store for up to 6 months in the freezer. Thaw uncovered at room temperature before serving.
Ideas to Serve
Make these Cherry Chocolate Shortbread Cookies for Valentine’s Day with a drizzle of White Chocolate Ganache. You can add some pink and red sprinkles for a festive touch! Chocolate Cherry Shortbread Cookies are a great edible gift for holidays or special occasions. Shortbreads go great with hot tea, so fill a cute mug with cookies and a couple of tea bags, then wrap in tissue paper and ribbons.
Frequent Questions
Your cookies may have spread due to factors such as overly soft or melted butter, usually due to not chilling the dough. The refrigeration time helps the butter become solid again, so it melts more slowly as the cookies bake, so they don’t spread too much.
Common mistakes when making shortbread include over-mixing the dough, using overly soft or melted butter, not chilling the dough adequately, baking at too high of a temperature, and not allowing the shortbread to cool completely before handling or storing. These mistakes can result in a tough or crumbly texture, excessive spreading, or a loss of the distinct buttery flavor and delicate crumb that make a good shortbread.
Variations
- Cherries: Instead of candied green cherries and red cherries. Candied cherries are the kind you find in Fruit Cake, and are chewier than maraschino cherries. For a tart, less sweet fruit, you could use dried cherries or try them with dried cranberries during the holidays.
- Nuts: Give these cookies a little crunch by adding ½ cup chopped pistachios, almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, or pecans. Toast the nuts for more flavor and chop them into small pieces so they distribute better in the shortbread dough.
- Mix-ins: Instead of mini chocolate chips, you can add candy-coated mini chocolate pieces like rainbow chips, mini M&Ms, or Toffee Bits. Try dark chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, cherry baking chips, or other fun flavored baking chips, too.
- White Chocolate: Instead of dark chocolate, you can make these White Chocolate Cherry Shortbread Cookies by swapping the cocoa powder with more all-purpose flour. Instead of the mini chocolate chips, use white chocolate chunks and give them a melted white chocolate drizzle after they’ve cooled.
- Chocolate: If you are a chocolate lover, take these cookies to the next level with a dark chocolate drizzle or dipping the cookies into chocolate that’s been melted chocolate. Microwave a medium bowl of chocolate chips or melting chocolate, stirring every 20 seconds until fully melted. Then dip half of the cookies into chocolate, and allow to cool and set in a single layer on a clean cookie sheet with parchment paper on top.
Related Recipes
More Chocolate Cherry Treats
These photos were in a previous version of this post
These were so good! I didn’t make any changes to the recipe, but I always find slice and bake cookies to be a hassle. Could these be converted to a drop/scoop cookie type that is flattened before baking?
Excellent! I followed the recipe exactly as written and it was delicious! Definitely a keeper ?.
Great! Glad you enjoyed it.