Cherry Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies– Tender shortbread cookies with chunks of cherries, filled with homemade chocolate ganache. Pretty and tasty, and perfect for Valentine’s Day!!
My mom came down last year for a day of baking. She brought this cookie recipe with her. It actually called for Hershey kisses, but when I opened up my pantry, some hooligans had eaten all but a handful of the bag. We had already made the dough, so I came up with the idea of filling the cookies with chocolate ganache instead.
We tried like four cookies with a kiss, and filled the rest with ganache. And this happened to be one of those times that having pantry thieves paid off. We actually preferred the cookies with the ganache! It stays nice and soft, so you get a good taste of chocolate in every bite.
These cookies are buttery and just melt in your mouth, and I love the burst of cherry flavor! The cherry juice makes them a lovely pink color, and adds to the flavor. So does the almond extract, so don’t be tempted to leave it out. If you like chocolate covered cherries, you have got to give this recipe a try!
How to Make Cherry Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies
Ingredients needed:
- butter (no substitutes)
- powdered sugar
- almond extract
- maraschino cherry juice
- flour
- salt
- maraschino cherries
- cream
- bittersweet or semisweet chocolate
Beat butter and powdered sugar till creamy. Add the almond extract and cherry juice; beat till well combined. Stir in dry ingredients and cherries. Shape into 1″ balls and roll in sugar. Place on cookie sheets and make an indentation in the middle of each cookie with the back of a round teaspoon or your thumb. Bake at 350° for about 8-10 minutes.
While cookies are baking, prepare ganache. In a small saucepan, heat cream over medium heat and add the chocolate. Let it sit for about 5 minutes, then stir till smooth. Let the cookies cool, then fill with chocolate ganache.
MORE TASTY RECIPES FOR VALENTINE’S DAY:
- White Chocolate Strawberry Cookies
- Heart Shaped Pizza
- Chocolate Dipped Shortbread Hearts
- Easy Heart Quesadillas
- Heart Shaped Brownie Bites
RECIPES FEATURING MARASCHINO CHERRIES:
- Chocolate Chip Cherry Dip
- Cherry Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Maraschino Cherry Bars
- White Chocolate Cherry Shortbread Cookies
Cherry Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies
Maraschino cherry shortbread thumbprint cookies rolled in sugar and filled with chocolate ganache. I used Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Baking Chips for the ganache, but you can use semi sweet instead. As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn a small amount from your purchase, no cost to you.Cherry Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies
Ingredients
Chocolate Ganache:
Instructions
Notes
Recommended Products
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
36
Serving Size:
1
Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 139Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 17mgSodium: 79mgCarbohydrates: 15gFiber: 1gSugar: 8gProtein: 1g
These are WOW cookies. Look and taste yummy. Thanks for a really good recipe!
So glad to hear you liked them Susan!! Merry Christmas!
Hi Kara, I stumbled upon your site not looking for cookies, but these pretty things caught my eye. I think they look great for Christmas, too! These I must try. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Regina! Hope you like them. They would be perfect for Christmas!