Black Forest Cookies
Inspired by classic black forest gâteau flavors of chocolate, cherry and cream, our Black Forest Cookies are indulgent and unexpected. Black forest gâteau is named after kirsch liqueur which has a distinct cherry taste.
Our Black Forest Cookies are dressed up for a holiday season party, New Year’s Eve or Valentine’s Day!
The Black Forest Cookies are rich, almost brownie like, with lots of cherries and creamy white chocolate. To amplify the black forest gâteau flavors, drain the cherries used in the recipe and soak them in kirsch overnight! I absolutely love this recipe because it doesn't require a mixer. These cookies are super easy to put together, and very hard to mess up!
To make the Black Forest Cookies, melt the baking chocolate and butter together until the mixture is smooth. Add the sugar, salt, espresso, vanilla and cherry juice to the mixture. Next mix in the eggs followed by the dry ingredients. The grand finale is adding in the chopped cherries and white chocolate chips! (be sure to blot the drained cherries with a paper towel to reduce excess moisture.)
Use a small cookie scoop to form the Black Forest Cookies and place them in the refrigerator for at least 30-60 minutes to reduce spreading. Bake the chilled cookies, rotating halfway through the bake time.
Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet slightly and transfer to a metal rack. Gently press a chocolate covered cordial cherry or cherry flavored Hershey’s Kiss onto the top of each Black Forest Cookies. Let the cookies cool completely before eating.
What I have found is that it’s best to leave the formed cookie dough in the refrigerator, for 30-60 minutes to reduce spreading so that the cookies retain their shape during the bake time. Measure correctly, and don't overmix or over bake for the best results. See my Pro Cookie Tips below!
Pro Cookie Tips
Use room temperature ingredients when the recipe calls for it, such as butter and eggs. These chocolate cookies only require room temperature eggs. Since you melt the butter it can be cold from the refrigerator.
Measure with the spoon and sweep method- spoon flour into a measuring cup and level it with a knife.
When scooping cookies, try not to allow any chocolate chips to directly touch the baking sheet, with your hand cover them with dough.
Chill the dough for 30-60 minutes before baking.
Use parchment paper to line baking sheets so cookies won’t stick and for easy clean up.
Rotate baking sheets halfway through the baking time.
Rest cookies on the baking sheet before moving to a cooling rack.
Cool cookies completely before decorating or storing.
Black Forest Cookies
ingredients:
- 2 4oz. baking bars of best quality dark or semisweet chocolate, broken into small pieces
- 5 tablespoons of unsalted butter
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon of salt
- 1 teaspoon of instant espresso
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla
- 1 teaspoon of cherry juice
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 1 ¼ cups of all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup of unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon of baking soda
- 1 16oz. jar of maraschino or preserved tart cherries, drained, chopped and patted dry
- 1 cup of white chocolate chips
- Chocolate covered cordial cherries or cherry flavored Hershey's Kisses
instructions:
How to cook Black Forest Cookies
- Prepare two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large glass bowl, melt the baking chocolate and butter together in the microwave for 1 minute. Stir and continue heating until the mixture is completely melted and silky.
- Add the sugar, salt, espresso, vanilla and cherry juice to the mixture. Stir in the eggs. Gently fold in the flour, cocoa powder and baking soda. Stir the chopped cherries and white chocolate chips into the sticky dough.
- Form cookies by using a small cookie scoop and place them on the prepared baking sheet at least 2 inches apart. When scooping cookies, try not to allow any chocolate chips to directly touch the baking sheet, with your hand cover them with dough. Place the cookies in the refrigerator for 30-60 minutes to reduce spreading, so the cookies retain their shape.
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Carefully unwrap the chocolate covered cordial cherries or cherry flavored Hershey's Kisses and set aside.
- Bake the chilled cookies for 9-11 minutes, rotating halfway through the bake time. Do not overbake. Cool on the baking sheet for 8-10 minutes and transfer to a metal drying rack with a spatula. Gently press chocolate covered cordial cherries or cherry flavored Hershey's Kisses
- into the top center of the cookies. The cookies will still be warm, so gently shape the chocolate around the cookie. Let the cookies cool completely.
NOTES:
• Blot the drained maraschino cherries with a paper towel to reduce excess moisture. • Regular Hershey’s Kisses work well in our Black Forest Cookies recipe if you can’t find cherry flavored. • Our Black Forest Cookies are rich, and you don’t even need to top them! You can make just the cookie base and it will still taste like a slice of black forest gâteau!
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