These adorable chocolate cherry blossoms are the perfect holiday cookie. Cherry flavored dough is topped off with dark chocolate kisses for the ultimate cherry kiss cookie.
Cookies made with chocolate kisses are always on our holiday cookie list! Peanut butter blossom cookies are traditional, but my family likes these cherry blossom cookies much more than peanut butter cookies.
Chocolate and cherry are two flavors that are just meant to go together in desserts! Whether it is an easy chocolate cherry cake or in chocolate covered cherry cookies the taste is distinctive and amazing.
Why You Will Love Chocolate Cherry Blossoms
- These cookies are very simple to make, without requiring any chilling, special equipment or complicated techniques.
- Kids love to help make these cookies. Even young children can roll cookie balls and unwrap the candy.
- The cherry juice and the chopped cherries in the cookie dough make these cookies very pretty, so they enhance your cookie tray.
- These cherry blossom cookies make a great Valentine’s day treat.
- These cookies are very popular, so they are perfect for a cookie exchange or for making as a gift to share with friends.
Key Ingredients and Substitutions
Most of the ingredients in this cherry kiss cookie recipe are typical for baking cookies and you can see the full list in the recipe card below. But here are few with special considerations or that you might want to make substitutions for.
- Butter – Salted or unsalted doesn’t matter in this recipe. But it is best to soften the butter by taking it out of the refrigerator 30-60 minutes before making the cookies
- Almond extract – You can also make these cookies with cherry extract if you prefer. You can substitute vanilla extract if you don’t have either, but it will make the cookies more bland. The almond or cherry flavor really enhances the cookies.
- Maraschino cherries – These bright red cherries are cherries that are processed and soaked in sugar. They give the cookies a lot of their sweetness and their pretty pink color.
- Kisses – I used dark chocolate Hershey’s kisses in these pictures. But there are quite a few varieties that would work just as well. If you really love cherries then the cherry cordial kisses would taste amazing. Milk chocolate, almond or hugs would also be great. My kids suggested a “taste test” this year trying out 3 or 4 different kind of kisses to determine which is best. I think they just want to eat all the extra candy!
Love holiday cookies? Make Church Window Cookies or Hot Chocolate Cookies for your Christmas cookie tray!
Step by Step Instructions
1. Make the Batter
Drain 1/2 a cup of maraschino cherries and chop them into small pieces, reserving the juice. If you are looking for a recipe to use up the rest of the jar of cherries consider making chocolate covered cherry cookies!
Put the butter and sugar in a mixer bowl and mix on high speed until they are nice and creamy. Then add cherry juice, chopped cherries and almond extract and mix.
Mix the flour into the batter until it is well combined. This is a dry dough, but it should be wet enough to form into balls. If it isn’t wet enough add another teaspoon of cherry juice.
2. Make the Cookies
Use a cookie scoop or a spoon to form the dough into balls about 1 1/2 inches in size. If you make the balls of dough too small the kisses will overwhelm the cookies.
Put the cookies on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Keep them spaced two inches apart so they have room to spread as they bake.
3. Bake the Cookies
Bake the chocolate cherry blossoms in a preheated oven for 10-12 minutes. They are done when the bottom edge turns light brown.
While the cookies bake unwrap the kisses so that you are ready to go when they are done. Take the cookie sheets out of the oven and gently press a kiss into the middle of each cookie.
Add the kisses while the cookies are still on the cookie sheets and are warm. Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet for about 5 minutes and then take them off to cool completely.
4. Glaze if Desired
I don’t usually glaze these cherry kiss cookies, but my mom always did when she made them. The glaze makes the cookies even sweeter and adds a nice almond flavor.
To make the glaze mix powdered sugar with water (or cherry juice) and almond extract. Drizzle it over the cookies once they are cooled.
How to Serve
These cookies are soft inside and have a delicious cherry flavor. Of course they taste best when the kisses are still a little bit warm and melty.
These cherry kiss cookies look amazing on a cookie tray and are always popular when I bring them to parties. The pink color and the flecks of bright red cherries makes them stand out.
You can store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days. These cookies also freeze fairly well, at least with dark chocolate kisses on top.
To freeze the cookies pack them in an airtight container and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw them at room temperature when you are ready to serve them.
Cookies Make the Perfect Gift
I love to share these cherry blossom cookies with my friends and family! Food is a great way to bring people together during the holiday season, either in person or from a distance.
Why not put together a cookie gift box for your friends? Here are some cookie recipe ideas for gift giving!
Chocolate Cherry Blossoms
Ingredients
Cherry Blossom Cookies
- 1 c. butter softened
- 1 c. powdered sugar
- 4 t. cherry juice from the maraschino jar
- 1/2 c. maraschino cherries chopped
- 3/4 t. almond extract
- 2 1/2 c. flour
- 1 bag Hershey Kisses – dark chocolate is my favorite
Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 Tablespoon water
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F.
- Put the butter and sugar in a mixer bowl and beat until creamy.1 c. butter, 1 c. powdered sugar
- Add the cherry juice, chopped cherries, and almond extract to the bowl and mix to combine. You can also add food coloring if you want to make the cookies even more pink.4 t. cherry juice, 1/2 c. maraschino cherries, 3/4 t. almond extract
- Mix in the flour until it is well combined. The dough will be dry, but it should be wet enough to make into balls. If you think it is too dry add more cherry juice, 1 teaspoon at a time.2 1/2 c. flour
- Form the dough into balls that are about 1 1/2” round. If you make the balls too small the kisses will overwhelm the cookies. Place the cookie balls on ungreased sheet cookie sheets or cookie sheets covered with parchment paper or a silcone baking mat.
- Bake the chocolate cherry blossoms at 350 for 10-12 min., until bottom edge turns light golden brown.
- While the cookies are baking unwrap the Hershey’s kisses. Leave the cookies on the cookie sheet when they are done and gently push a kiss into the middle of each cookie. Keep them on the tray for another 5 minutes and then put them on cooling racks.1 bag Hershey Kisses – dark chocolate is my favorite
- Cool completely before making the optional glaze. To make glaze stir the powdered sugar, water and almond extract together. Drizzle over the top of the cookies and let it harden.1 cup powdered sugar, 1 Tablespoon water, 1 teaspoon almond extract
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Nutrition Information
Nutrition facts are estimates.
I don’t usually glaze these cherry kiss cookies, but my mom always did when she made them. The glaze makes the cookies even sweeter and adds a nice almond flavor. Cookies made with chocolate kisses are always on our holiday cookie list! Peanut butter blossom cookies are traditional, but my family likes these cherry blossom cookies much more than peanut butter cookies.
They all look delicious!❤️❤️
We made these Cherry kiss. Cookies for Christmas.. what a bit, every loved them.. had to make another batch, first batch was eaten the same night..
No Baking Powder or Baking soda in recipe?
I came to ask the same thing! I’m already in the middle of mixing already, so I guess I’ll make them without a rising agent and hope for the best!
First time making these and everyone loves them, easy to make, in the process of making more as we speak!
Have you thought about using cherry juice in the glaze in place of water?
THANKS SOOO MUCH!! Lost the receipe I had years ago
Tasty and pretty cookies! I added about 15 drops of red food color. I saw on another blog to roll the dough balls in sugar which makes them a tad sparkly and even more pretty! Then I also slightly flatten the dough balls on the cookie sheet before baking and that helps the cookies crack so much less when pushing the kiss in so I’ll definitely do it that way from now on. Thank you so much!