Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup (115 g) Unsalted Butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup (100 g) Granulated Sugar
  • 1/4 cup (50 g) Light Brown Sugar, packed
  • 1 Large Egg, room temperature
  • 1 tsp (5 ml) Vanilla Extract
  • 1 1/2 cups (180 g) All-Purpose Flour
  • 1/4 cup (30 g) Dutch-Processed Cocoa Powder
  • 1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) Baking Soda
  • 1/4 tsp (1.25 ml) Fine Sea Salt
  • 24 whole Maraschino Cherries, well drained and patted dry
  • 7 oz (200 g) Quality Dark Chocolate (60–70% cacao), chopped or chips
  • 1 tsp (5 g) Coconut Oil or Unsalted Butter

Instructions:

  1. Prep the Cherries: Drain the maraschino cherries thoroughly. Lay them out on several layers of paper towels and blot until completely dry. This step is critical to prevent a soggy bake.
  2. Preheat and Prepare: Preheat oven to 350°F / 175°C. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
  3. Cream Butter and Sugars: In a stand mixer, cream the softened butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes). Scrape down the bowl.
  4. Add Wet Ingredients: Beat in the egg and vanilla extract until just combined.
  5. Whisk Dry Ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
  6. Combine Dough: Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing on low speed until just combined. Do not overmix. The dough will be thick and slightly sticky.
  7. Chill: Cover the dough and chill in the refrigerator for a minimum of 45 minutes. (This firms up the butter and makes handling much easier.)
  8. Scoop Dough: Use a small cookie scoop (or measure about 1.5 Tbsp of dough).
  9. Stuff the Cherries: Flatten the scoop of dough into a disc. Place one dried cherry in the centre. Carefully fold the edges of the dough over the cherry, pinching and rolling it gently between your palms until the cherry is completely encased and the seal is tight.
  10. Bake: Place the stuffed dough balls 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 10–12 minutes. The edges should look set, and the centres should appear slightly soft but cracked.
  11. Cool: Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before carefully transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
  12. Melt Chocolate: In a double boiler (or in 30-second bursts in the microwave), melt the chopped dark chocolate with the coconut oil/butter until smooth and glossy. Stir until no lumps remain.
  13. Dip or Drizzle: Once the cookies are stone-cold, either drizzle the melted chocolate over the tops using a fork, or lightly dip the top half of each cookie into the glaze.
  14. Set: Place the glazed cookies back on the wire rack or parchment paper and allow the chocolate to set completely (about 20 minutes) before serving or storing.