Cherry Cream Cheese Cookies

Cherry Cookie

A Perfect Valentine

Cherries for cookies

“Come here, Kate said, and while the girl waited beside the desk Kate slowly addressed the envelope and stamped it. I want you to run a little errand for me, she said. Go to Bell’s candy store and get a five-pound box of mixed chocolates and a one-pound box. The big one is for you girls.”

East of Eden, John Steinbeck

Inspiration

For a little sweetness on Valentine’s Day I have the perfect cookie. Sour cherries, almond and lemon are nestled in an ethereal cream cheese cookie. Flaunting an alluring Bing cherry this cookie surpasses the swagger of the overly sweet candy of Valentine’s Day.

Valentine’s Day falls on Friday this year. After a busy week it can be challenging to find time to make a sweet treat for the holiday. These cookies are the perfect solution. The cookie dough only takes a few minutes to make and can easily be kept in the refrigerator for several days before baking. Shaping the cookies is as easy as scooping the dough, forming it into a round shape and then adding the elegant cherry on top. The cookies bake quickly and very soon a sweet valentine dessert will be ready to share.

Baking Cherry Cookies

Essentials

The regal Bing cherries are just sweet enough to contrast the sour dried cherries nestled in the buttery soft cookie. Don’t omit the lemon zest or almond extract as they add depth to the exquisite flavor of these cookies. Maraschino cherries can be used and the cookies will have the traditional red of Valentine’s Day but I prefer the dusky red and early summer flavor of the Bing cherry. I used these Bing cherries, as this is what I found at my local grocery store. These cherries are preserved without food coloring and still have their stems attached. Whatever cherries are used, drain them well before placing them in the cookies.

The Cherry Cream Cheese Cookie recipe is adapted from Cottage Cheese Cookies in The Gourmet Cookie Book. I just added this sweet book to my collection after placing a winning bid on The Wednesday’s Chef’s cookbook auction to raise funds for the Invisible Child Trust.

Baked Cherry Cookies

Ingredients
2C all-purpose flour
1/2t baking powder
1/2t fine grain sea salt
1/2c/4oz unsalted butter, softened
1/2C cream cheese, softened
1C sugar
1 egg
1t lemon zest
1t vanilla extract
1t almond extract
1/2C chopped, dried sour cherries
36 preserved, pitted Bing cherries with stems, drained
  1. In a medium size bowl sift or shake through a large sieve the flour, baking power and salt.
  2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment add the butter, cream cheese and sugar and mix until throughly combined. Add the egg, lemon zest, vanilla and almond extracts and mix again to combine. Stop and scrape down the sides and bottom of the mixer bowl. When throughly incorporated add the flour mixture. Mix just until the dough comes together and then remove the bowl from the stand mixer. Fold in the chopped cherries. Chill the dough until it is stiff before baking.
  3. Heat the oven to 350°. Line a sheet pan with parchment. Scoop the cookies in uniform amounts by using an ice cream scoop or measuring spoon. I used a tablespoon of dough for each cookie. Roll the cookie dough into round balls and space them two inches apart on the sheet pan. Make an indentation in the center of each cookie and place a cherry in the indentation with the stem facing upward. Bake for 10 minutes. Open the oven and quickly reposition any cherries that have slumped over. Finish baking the cookies for 2-5 more minutes, just until the bottom edges of the cookies begin to brown. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for five minutes and remove to a cooling rack to finish cooling.

Cherry Cookies and Coffee

Cherry Cookies

46 Replies to “Cherry Cream Cheese Cookies”

  1. Now I really wish I had some cherries! These cookies sound wonderful – I love cream cheese cookies and I can imagine how well they pair with the cherries!

  2. These cookies are just beautiful! I love anything with cherries and can’t wait until they are in season again. And that means it will be summer too!!! Yay!!!

    1. Thank you Laura! The Cherry Cream Cheese Cookies are the perfect treat to satisfy our cherry craving until spring!

  3. so adorable! and just perfect for valentine’s day. i’ve seen cherries around here recently, but they are few and far between. i’m saving this for when we get the really good ones later this year.

    1. Thank you for the tasty comment Shannon! May begins the fresh cherry season here, I can’t wait!

  4. I adore these and the bing cherries on top – I wonder where I could find those? I am not at all a maraschino cherry girl. If I can’t find the preserved cherries – I bet a little chocolate in its place would not be at all bad.

    Hope you are having a lovely Valentine’s Day full of sweet sweet things.

    1. Thank you for the lovely comment Beth! I found the Bing cherries at my local Nob Hill grocery store. I fairly certain if I can find them here, you can find them in your area!

  5. Ooh, these are gorgeous! Almond extract is one of my favorites to use, and I think it’s just dreamy combined with a cherry or lemon flavor. Love your staging, too – that red stove-top espresso maker is just too adorable. Perfect for Valentine’s. 🙂

    1. Thank you Denise! I agree, cookies are the perfect afternoon snack! Happy Valentine’s Day!

  6. Goodness they look so light and moist, I’m so impressed with how the cherry has retained it’s beauty. Your pics are glorious xx

    1. Thank you for the gracious comment Deena! I am very pleased at how the Bing cherries baked!

  7. These cookies look perfectly pretty for Valentine’s Day – I love the combination of almond flavour with cherries and will have to try these some day! Bookmarked!

    1. Thank you Cathy! The recipe is very easy and comes together quickly, I hope you try them!

    1. Thank you lynda! My thoughts exactly, I’d rather have a home baked sweet over candy any day.

  8. These cookies are perfect for Valentine . I can’t wait to make them. The cherries look divine. You do such a good job with your blog.
    Gerlinde

Comments are closed.

developed by markryan :: marktheryan.com