Cute Frosted Cherry Cookies
I’ve always loved maraschino cherries. As a kid in my Shirley Temples, as an adult in my Malibu Sunsets, and they’re front and center in my grandma’s Sweet Cherry Bread. It’s been years since I’ve baked them into cookies or bars, and I was overdue for a new maraschino cherry recipe. The cookies were worth the wait and they’re just so fun. Soft, buttery, pink cookies with the surprise of a juicy, sweet maraschino cherry in the middle that also helps keep the cookies moist. The cherry juice glaze boosts the cherry flavor even more. It’s a unique cookie recipe in that there’s no egg, no baking soda or baking powder, and rather than granulated or brown sugar, confectioners’ sugar is used. They’re perfect for Valentine’s Day, Mothers’ Day, Easter, Christmas, or anytime you need something that’ll make you smile. Because pink cookies will do the trick!
What’s in Maraschino Cherry Cookies?
For this maraschino cherry cookie recipe, you’ll need:
Unsalted butter Confectioners’ sugar Milk Vanilla extract All-purpose flour Salt Red food coloring Maraschino cherries (and their juice)
How to Make Maraschino Cherry Cookies
These frosted cherry cookies require some assembly, but they’re so easy to make! Make the dough as you would any other cookie dough, then scoop it into 10 equal-sized mounds of dough. Use your thumb to make a shallow well in the dough, and insert one cherry into the well. Carefully seal and crimp the edges around the cherry and flatten mounds slightly, taking care not flatten too much and squish the cherry. Chill the cookies for at least 3 hours before baking them. After they’ve finished baking, they’ll need to cool completely before topping with glaze.
Can I Use Regular Sugar?
No! You must use confectioners’ sugar (aka powdered sugar) to make this cherry cookie recipe. Confectioners’ sugar makes for ultra soft, crumbly cookies.
Tips for Making Cookies with Maraschino Cherries
You MUST chill the cookie dough before baking it. If you don’t chill the dough, your cookies will flatten out in the oven and will lose their bonbon shape. A few readers have asked if they can make the glaze with chocolate instead of maraschino cherry juice to create a chocolate-covered cherry effect. Yes, you can! I would just melt about 1 cup chocolate chips with 1 tbsp of butter or cream and use that instead of the glaze. For another twist on this recipe, try soaking the maraschino cherries in bourbon before inserting them into the cookies. I haven’t tried this myself, so I can’t say for sure how it’d affect the texture of the cookies. But it sure sounds good!
More Cherry Dessert Recipes:
Sweet Soft Cherry Bread with Cherry-Almond Glaze — An easy quick bread that’s perfect for Valentine’s Day, Easter, or Mother’s Day! Because you can never have too much pink! Tried this recipe? Leave a review! Consider leaving a 5 star rating if you’ve made and loved one of my recipes!
Maraschino Cherry White Chocolate Cookies — Super soft buttery cookies stuffed with white chocolate and cherries! Perfect for Valentine’s Day!
Chocolate Chip and Cherry Blondies — Fruit for dessert takes on new meaning with these easy bars!
Cherry Pie Bars — Just like your favorite cherry pie but way easier!! A no-roll crust with juicy cherries and topped with a sweet glaze! Perfect for parties, events, and holidays!!
Cherry Cream Pie – An old-fashioned pie with homemade scratch crust topped with NO-BAKE layers of sweetened cream cheese along with juicy cherry pie filling!! If you like cherry pie, you’re going to LOVE this amped up version!!
Triple Chocolate Cherry Cake — Loaded with juicy cherries and topped with an easy homemade chocolate frosting. I used a few shortcuts in this recipe to save time, but this cake tastes completely homemade!
Pineapple Coconut Bars — I combined my love of pina coladas and seven layer bars into a fast, easy, no-mixer dessert that tastes like the tropics.
