These cherry almond cookies are simply divine! They are chewy and brimming with almond flavor from the addition of almond extract, toasted ground almonds, and Amaretto liqueur. Chopped maraschino cherries and maraschino cherry juice are both added for loads of fresh cherry flavor and that beautiful color. Add white chocolate chips to the cookie dough and/or top the cookies with a white chocolate drizzle for the perfect cookies. Yields 18 cookies.
I tested a bunch of versions of these before landing on this one: big almond flavor, real cherry flavor, and a chewy center with just-crisp edges. Heads up — the dough needs at least 2 hours in the fridge, so plan ahead. The upside? You can make it up to 5 days early, which is a lifesaver during the holidays.
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What makes these taste so almond-y
Almond extract alone made my test batches taste fake. Like, cheap-candy fake. So I layered three things instead:
- Toasted whole almonds, ground at home. I skipped almond flour on purpose. It soaks up moisture and barely tastes like almonds. Toasting raw almonds in a dry skillet and blitzing them in a [food processor](AMAZON FOOD PROCESSOR LINK — keep as-is, rel="sponsored nofollow") gives way more flavor and a little texture.
- A little almond extract. Just ½ teaspoon. A good brand is worth it here.
- Amaretto. This is the secret. It rounds out the extract so it tastes like real almonds, not a bottle. No alcohol? Skip it, but the almond flavor will be a lot quieter.
I also left out vanilla. Most cherry almond cookie recipes use it, but in my testing it muddied the almond.
💡 Don't skip the chill. I know. Two hours feels like forever. But warm dough = flat, greasy cookies. Every time. Cold dough holds its shape and the flavor gets better while it rests. If a batch still spreads, grab a round cookie cutter and swirl it around each hot cookie to nudge it back into a circle.
The cherry part
These are basically maraschino cherry cookies with an almond backbone. A few things I learned:
Stick with maraschino. Fresh or dried cherries change how the cookies bake, so I don't recommend swapping.
White chocolate: in, on top, or both
Use the juice. One jar of maraschino cherries gives you two ingredients. A tablespoon of the juice turns the dough that pretty pale pink and doubles down on cherry flavor.
Halve them, don't chop them. Tiny pieces disappear into the dough. Halves keep big, juicy pops of cherry in every bite.
Buy stemless if you can. Saves you a tedious step.
Technically optional. I'd never leave it out. Stir the chips into the dough (my husband's favorite), drizzle melted white chocolate over the top, or go all in and do both. White chocolate and almond-cherry are just made for each other.
If you love this flavor combo, my chewy strawberry and white chocolate cookies are its berry-season cousin.
How to make cherry almond cookies
TIP: If this cookie dough is not sufficiently chilled, your cookies will spread.
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Make ahead and storage
These cherry and almond biscuits keep really well, which makes them great for cookie swaps.
- Room temp: airtight container, up to 4 days.
- Fridge: up to 1 week.
- Freeze baked cookies: freeze in a single layer on a lined sheet for an hour, then bag them. Good for 3 months. Thaw on the counter.
- Freeze the dough: scoop, freeze on a sheet for an hour, then bag. Bake straight from frozen and add 1–2 minutes.
Want more? I've got tons of homemade cookie recipes to keep your cookie jar full.
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Ingredients
Cookie dough
- ½ cup unsalted whole almonds
- ¾ cup unsalted butter room temperature
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- 2 teaspoons amaretto liqueur
- 1 tablespoon maraschino cherry juice
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
Mix-ins
- 24 maraschino cherries without stems, drained and halved
- ¾ cup white chocolate chips optional
Optional topping
- additional white chocolate for drizzling on top of cookies
Instructions
- To an ungreased heavy skillet set over medium heat, add the almonds. Toast for 5-7 minutes, shaking every few seconds to ensure they brown evenly on all sides. Once the almonds smell fragrant and begin to look browned, remove them from the heat. ½ cup unsalted whole almondsAdd the almonds to the bowl of a food processor and process until finely ground, about 30 seconds. Set aside.½ cup unsalted whole almonds
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment affixed, beat the butter and sugar on high speed until creamy and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.¾ cup unsalted butter¾ cup unsalted butter, ¾ cup granulated sugar
- With the mixer off, add the almond extract and amaretto liqueur. Turn the mixer to medium speed and mix for about 1 minute.½ teaspoon almond extract½ teaspoon almond extract, 2 teaspoons amaretto liqueur
- With the mixer running on medium speed, slowly drizzle in the cherry juice. Beat for 1 minute on high speed until fully incorporated and the cookie dough is a beautiful shade of pink.1 tablespoon maraschino cherry juice1 tablespoon maraschino cherry juice
- Turn the mixer off and add the flour, salt, and toasted ground almonds. Turn the mixer on low speed and slowly stir until a very soft dough forms. With the mixer still running on low, add the chopped cherries and white chocolate chips, if using. Stir on low just until the cherries and white chocolate chips are evenly incorporated.1 ½ cups all-purpose flour1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, 24 maraschino cherries , ¾ cup white chocolate chips, ½ teaspoon salt
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill until firm, at least 2 hours or up to 5 days. If your mixer bowl won't fit in your fridge because you have too much stuff in it like I do, transfer the cookie dough to a large bowl or a medium bowl first, then cover with plastic wrap. TIP: If this cookie dough is not sufficiently chilled, your cookies will spread. Chilling the dough also enhances the flavor of the baked cookies.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Use a cookie scoop to scoop the dough into 1 ½ tablespoon sized balls. Shape the cookie dough into balls and place 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. Bake cookies one tray at a time. While one tray of cookies is baking, place the rest of the dough back in the fridge to remain chilled.
- Bake for 12 minutes, or until just starting to turn golden brown at the edges. The cookies will puff up and spread slightly. Do not overbake. If they spread, use a round cookie cutter or the rim of an overturned bowl to scoot the cookies back into round shapes by circling the cookie cutter or bowl around the cookie, allowing the sides to bump back into a round shape.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for at least 15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. If you find the bottoms of the cookies look a bit greasy, place a layer of paper towels on the wire rack then place the cookies on top. This will absorb any excess melted butter from the bottom of the cookies.
- Optional: Melt additional white chocolate in the microwave in 20 second increments, stirring well in between, until fully melted and smooth. Drizzle melted white chocolate on top of the cookies. I like to dip the tines of a fork into the melted chocolate and drizzle back and forth over top of the cooled cookies. You can also use a piping bag with a fine tip or use a clean squeeze bottle.
Notes
- To store: Store cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.Store in the fridge for up to one week.
- To freeze baked cookies: place cookies on a parchment paper lined baking sheet in a single layer and freeze at least one hour until frozen. Transfer to a freezer safe bag and store in the freezer up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature.
- Make ahead: Prepare the cookie dough then scoop the cookie dough onto a parchment lined sheet pan and place in the freezer for at least one hour or until frozen. Transfer the cookie dough to a freezer safe storage bag and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. To bake, place frozen cookie dough on a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake as directed. Cookies may take 1-2 minutes longer to bake all the way through.
- Recipe adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction.