A chocolate crinkle cookies recipe is not just for Christmas, cherry preserves and bits of chocolate combine for a tasty treat any time of the year. Festive but also delicious. Great for a cookie exchange or valentines day!
Everyone loves a great crinkle cookie with their distinctive powdered sugar cracks. This chocolate crinkle cookies recipe makes beautiful cookies on the outside and combines the amazing flavor of chocolate and cherries. Using both cherry preserves and dried cherries give them a wonderful cherry flavor and bits of chocolate come through in each bite.
These Christmas crinkle cookies first caught my eye because of their beautiful color. I was looking for something different for a holiday cookie exchange. I thought they would be similar to a red velvet cookie but they’re not even close. They do have a bit of food coloring, but most of the color comes from the cherry preserves. The added food coloring just makes them a bit brighter. If you like cherries and chocolate, you’ll love this holiday cookie recipe.
Cherries are one of my favorite fruits in the summer, there’s nothing better than fresh cherry pie. But come winter, you’ve got to go with frozen, dried, or preserves, the fresh ones you find in the grocery where I live have no flavor. So in the middle of winter if you’re craving a bowl of cherries, these might tide you over until Spring.
Looking at the cookie itself, you can’t really tell there’s chocolate inside. So that first bite is a pleasant surprise. The chocolate doesn’t overwhelm the cherries but it’s a great compliment. I used Bonne Maman cherry preserves which along with dried cherries give them a slightly tart flavor. The dough itself is pretty soft from the preserves so you’ll need to refrigerate it for several hours.
Why you’ll love chocolate crinkle cookies recipe
- The fun color in this cookie is great for holidays like Christmas and Valentine’s.
- The crinkle style or sometimes these cookies are known as snowflake cookies, are beautiful on a platter.
- You don’t know there’s chocolate hidden in each cookie until you bite in.
What you’ll need
- Cherry preserves and dried cherries – I used Bonne Maman for the preserves and dried cherries that are found with the dried apricots and raisins in the grocery.
- Dark Chocolate – just 3 ounces, you could use chocolate chips but I like to control the size and use a bar of chocolate like Ghirardelli.
- Vanilla and almond extract – the vanilla adds a rich taste and just a little almond flavor is great with cherries.
- Powdered sugar – to roll the cookie dough balls in.
- Pantry items – butter, sugar, brown sugar, flour, baking powder and an egg.
How do you make chocolate crinkle cookies recipe
Step 1: Combine butter and sugar and add egg, preserves, food coloring and extracts.
Step 2: Add the dry ingredients and once combined, add dried cherries and chopped chocolate. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Step 3: Use an ice cream scoop to roll into balls. First roll the ball in regular sugar and then roll it in the powdered sugar, making certain it is completely covered. Bake.
Fun variation: If you’re feeling fancy, substitute in white chocolate chips!
Pro tip: If the cookies coming out of the oven aren’t bright enough with powdered sugar, you can roll the cookies in powdered sugar once, let the dough soak up a little bit of it, then re-roll them in the powdered sugar a second time.
What you have is a great cookie to eat all by itself or with coffee, tea, or milk. Not too sweet but it has lots of character. Cherry chocolate crinkle cookies are great if you want something different for your cookie exchange, and what a great gift to give to your friends. Don’t forget about this recipe come Valentines day ❤️ .
FAQs and tips
If you have preserves left over try making cherry streusel bars or pork tenderloin.
No, you can skip it. However, without food coloring they will be more pink than red.
Make sure they are completely coated in powdered sugar before baked.
Try putting the dough back in the refrigerator for a few minutes.
While you would think they do, these cookies do not have the red velvet cake taste.
They taste like cherries and chocolate.
More cookies you’ll love to make
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Chocolate Crinkle Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter room temp
- ½ cup sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 egg
- ⅓ cup cherry preserves
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- 1 teaspoon red food coloring
- 1 ¾ cups flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 ounces dark chocolate chopped
- ⅓ cup dried cherries chopped
- ½ cup confectioner’s sugar
- ¼ cup sugar
Instructions
- With an electric mixer, beat butter. ½ cup sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg. Add preserves, food coloring and extracts and mix to combine.
- In a separate bowl whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture and mix until combined. Fold in chopped chocolate and cherries. Cover and refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours or overnight.
- Preheat oven to 375º. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Place ¼ cup sugar in a small bowl and confectioners sugar in a separate bowl. Form dough into balls using an ice cream scoop. Roll first in regular sugar and then in confectioners sugar and place them about 2 inches apart on prepared pans.
- Bake until the cookies are cracked and dry on top, about 15 minutes. Let cool slightly before transferring to a wire rack.
Barbara’s Tips + Notes
- This recipe makes 24 large cookies using a ¼ cup of dough, if making smaller cookies, decrease the baking time to about 12 minutes.
- If the sugar doesn’t stick to the balls, let the dough warm up a little.
- Make sure you coat completely in powdered sugar.
- You can use chocolate chips instead of chopped chocolate.
Nutrition
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