These White Chocolate Cherry Cookies are chewy and light.  Almond extract flavored pink dough, filled with chopped Maraschino cherries and white chocolate chips.  

White Chocolate Cherry Cookies … Could there be a better way to jump into the season of baking? 

Yes.  It’s the season of sweets.  At this point in time, if you haven’t lost weight, you are probably thinking, “As soon as the New Year starts” anyway — so we might as well embrace the season, right??  These festive little Maraschino cherry cookies will perfectly adorn your holiday trays this year.  Just look at them!  All dressed up in red & white for the holidays!

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Guess what?  Today is Freaky Friday!!  Not sure what that means?  Well, It’s an event that I host five times a year, where some of my very favorite blogger friends secretly cook/bake from one another’s blogs and we all reveal our recipes at the same time.  It’s like Christmas!! You don’t know who had you, and what they made, then at 8 AM on a Friday morning, we all see what we “got!”  Bonus — we get a whole bunch of new recipes and so do YOU!! And …. you may discover new blogs to follow for yummy recipes!  I host the event once per season, and then our 5th event is always a Virtual Holiday Cookie Exchange, that event happens today!

This delightful new white chocolate cherry cookie recipe comes from Lori, one of the masterminds behind the amazing blog, Who Needs a Cape?  Lori and Heather met years ago online and started a blog.  They have hundreds of amazing recipes.  Awesome family dinners, TONS of baked goods and oh…the cocktails!! Swoon!!  

While I was trying to decide what to make,  I was just browsing around all of the yummy food on Who Needs a Cape, and I determined that it was sure helpful, that for this particular round,  I had to stick to a theme of Virtual Holiday Cookie exchange. So hard to choose!  I did however, find some other wonderful holiday recipes I can’t wait to partake in in December!

First off, This Holiday Sangria! Citrus Vodka, sparkling Rosé, limes, oranges and cranberries make it so fun and delicious looking!  Next up … dessert! This Layered Peppermint Holiday Dessert is perfect for Christmas dessert.  Oreos, chocolate sauce, non-dairy whipped topping, and candy canes all layered together into this delicious treat!  Every Christmas, we have ham.  I am always looking for ways to re-purpose leftover ham.  This Slow Cooker Leftover Ham and Shredded Potato Soup is happening for sure!  I narrowed my cookie down to two choices, These Cranberry White Chocolate Chocolate Chip Drop Cookies or these White Chocolate Cherry Cookies.  

If you are visiting me for this recipe — you know what I picked! These White Chocolate Cherry Cookies were an amazing choice! If the white chocolate chips or the Maraschino cherries aren’t enough to draw you in, the almond extract should be!  I don’t know what it is about almond extract, especially GOOD almond extract, that just makes baked goods so delicious!! Every year at Christmastime, one of our favorite cookies are my Almond Raspberry Shortbread Thumbprints.  I would be in big trouble if I didn’t make them! Ironically, last year, for our Freaky Friday Cookie Exchange, Lori had my blog and made those for her family.  

Ingredients for White Chocolate Cherry Cookies:

• Butter and Egg
• White and Brown Sugar
• Salt, Flour, Baking Soda
• Good Quality Almond Extract
• Good Quality White Chocolate Chips
• Maraschino Cherries

Chop your drained cherries up.  I love my small food chopper.  I hardly ever drag my big one out anymore.  It’s perfect for chopping and pureeing.  Check out the KitchenAid 3.5 Cup Food Chopper

Just like any other cookie recipe, mix together the dough, then fold in your white chocolate chips and chopped cherries.  I LOVE how the dough is that pretty pink color!

Using your Cookie Scoop, Scoop them out onto a parchment lined cookie sheet, and bake them up.  

^LOVE Them? PIN THEM!^

Have you ever been to or hosted a cookie exchange?  I used to have one every year.  I think it’s been 3 years since I hosted the last one, but prior to that, I think we went strong for almost 20 years! They really aren’t hard to host, and the outcome is amazing.  Everyone that is invited brings one dozen of their contributed cookie for each person.  So if there are ten people invited, you are going to make 10 dozen of your cookie or candy, and box them up for each person.  In turn, you receive a dozen of each of theirs.  Going home with 10 dozen different cookies and candies.  Sweet, huh?

It sure made arranging gorgeous holiday platters a lot easier!

ARRANGE THE PERFECT HOLIDAY COOKIE PLATTER is simple once you have the right treats to add to it. Find all of the recipes and instructions you need right here! (click photo for recipes and how to)

Love Cherries? Me, too!! Here are some more Delicious Cherry Recipes: 

• Cherry Torte Cupcakes
• Cherry Dessert
• Chocolate Cherry Brownies
• Cherry Limeade Baked Donuts
• Heart-Shaped Cherry Hand Pies
• Cherry Cheese Bread
• Cherry Pie Jell-O
• Cherry Limeade Sweet Rolls

Cherries always seem to make a recipe so much prettier, don’t they??  

Please make sure to visit all of the bloggers participating in this round of Freaky Friday.  There are so many wonderful recipes being shared.

• An Affair from the Heart – White Chocolate Cherry Cookies
• Bowl Me Over –  Easy Shortbread Cookies with Confetti
• Hostess at Heart – Peanut Butter Pretzel Puppy Chow
• LeMoine Family Kitchen – White Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies
• Life Currents – Chocolate Marshmallow Moonpies
• Lisa’s Dinnertime Dish – Peanut Butter Chocolate Dipped Cookie Dough Truffles
• Mildly Meandering –  Cheesecake Bars
• Plattertalk – German Pfeffernusse Cookies
• Seduction in the Kitchen – Chewy Chocolate M&M Cookies
• Take Two Tapas –  Turtle Wonton Kisses
• The Foodie Affair – Easy Cut Out Cookies
• West Via Midwest – Mini Eggnog Cakes with Praline Topping
• Who Needs a Cape? – Copy Cat Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bars

What do you say we get to the White Chocolate Cherry Cookie Recipe?

Yield: About 4 dozen

White Chocolate Cherry Cookies

Print

These White Chocolate Cherry Cookies are chewy and light.  Almond extract flavored pink dough, filled with chopped Maraschino cherries and white chocolate chips.  

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 teaspoon good quality almond extract
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups flour
• 1 (10 ounce jar Maraschino Cherries, drained and finely chopped
• 2 cups good quality white chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line your cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. Cream together butter, sugars, egg and almond extract with your mixer until creamy.
3. In a small bowl mix together baking soda, salt, and flour. Gradually mix into the wet ingredients until incorporated.
4. Mix in your chopped Maraschino cherries.
5. Fold in white chocolate chips.
6. Spoon onto prepared cookie sheet.
7. Bake for 8-10 minutes, cool for 3-4 minutes on pan and then transfer to cooling rack to cool completely.

Notes

Recipe from Who Needs a Cape?

If you make this recipe, I’d love to know! Snap a picture, share the photo on social media with the hashtag #AnAffairFromTheHeart – I’d love to see what you made! – Michaela

Related posts:

Arrange the Perfect Holiday Cookie Platter Pumpkin Spice Swirls – Left Over Pie Crust Cookies Holiday Cookie Exchange – Cookie Round Up Dipped Shortbread Cookies