Irresistible Soft & Chewy Dried Cherry Cookies with White Chocolate Chunks

Prepare to fall in love with these incredible dried cherry cookies! They are the epitome of cookie perfection: wonderfully soft and chewy on the inside, with subtly crisp edges that give way to a melt-in-your-mouth texture. Each bite is generously studded with vibrant, sweet-tart dried cherries and creamy white chocolate chips, creating a flavor combination that is truly addictive. This easy-to-follow recipe ensures consistently delicious results, making them a fantastic addition to your baking repertoire, whether for a special occasion or just a delightful everyday treat.

Why These Dried Cherry Cookies Will Become Your New Favorite

As a devoted baker, I have exceptionally high standards when it comes to cookies. A truly outstanding cookie should be a heartwarming experience, leaving you completely smitten from the first bite. These homemade dried cherry cookies don’t just meet that expectation; they exceed it. Their delightful balance of soft, chewy centers with a delicate crispness at the edges, combined with their ideal thickness, creates a textural symphony that is simply irresistible.

The star of the show, of course, is the dried cherry. Its naturally tart and sweet flavor provides a fantastic counterpoint to the rich, creamy sweetness of white chocolate chips. This classic pairing is a match made in dessert heaven, offering a sophisticated yet comforting taste. However, the beauty of this recipe lies in its versatility. If white chocolate isn’t your preference, feel free to get creative! You can easily swap in dark chocolate chips for a deeper, more intense flavor, or add a delightful crunch with toasted walnuts or pecans. Whether you stick to the classic cherry and white chocolate combination or experiment with other mix-ins, these cookies are guaranteed to impress.

Essential Ingredients for Perfect Dried Cherry Cookies

Crafting the perfect batch of dried cherry cookies starts with understanding the role each ingredient plays. Using high-quality components and measuring them precisely will ensure your cookies turn out beautifully every time.

Unsalted butter: Always start with room temperature unsalted butter. Using unsalted butter allows you to control the exact amount of salt in your cookies. If you only have salted butter on hand, it’s perfectly fine to use, just remember to omit the ¼ teaspoon of kosher salt from the recipe to avoid overly salty cookies. Room temperature butter creams much more effectively with sugar, creating a light and airy base for your cookie dough.

Granulated sugar & brown sugar: This dynamic duo provides the perfect balance of sweetness and texture. Granulated sugar contributes to the crisp edges and contributes to the spread of the cookies, while brown sugar adds moisture, depth of flavor, and that irresistible chewiness that makes these dried cherry cookies so delightful. Using both creates a more complex and satisfying cookie.

Egg + extra yolk: This is one of my favorite secrets for a truly rich and dense cookie! The whole egg binds the ingredients and adds moisture, while the extra egg yolk contributes significant richness, enhances the chewiness, and creates a more luxurious texture without making the cookies cakey. Trust me, it makes a noticeable difference in these soft and chewy dried cherry cookies.

All-purpose flour: Proper flour measurement is paramount for cookie success. For accurate results, spoon the flour into your measuring cup and then level it off with the straight edge of a butter knife. Avoid scooping directly from the bag, as this compacts the flour, resulting in too much flour in your dough. Excess flour can lead to dry, dense, and crumbly cookies, which is the opposite of the soft and chewy perfection we’re aiming for.

Baking soda: As a crucial leavening agent, baking soda reacts with the acidic brown sugar in the dough to create carbon dioxide gas. This gas helps the cookies rise slightly and spread, ensuring they aren’t dense, tough, or flat. It’s essential for achieving that ideal soft and chewy texture.

Dried cherries: These are the star flavor of our delicious cookies! I highly recommend seeking out high-quality, plump dried tart cherries, which offer a more intense flavor and better texture than their sweeter counterparts. If you have a Costco nearby, their large bags of Monterey tart cherries are often a fantastic and cost-effective option. The tartness of the cherries beautifully cuts through the sweetness of the dough and white chocolate, creating a balanced flavor profile.

White chocolate chips: The creamy sweetness of white chocolate chips complements the tartness of the dried cherries perfectly. If you’re not a fan of white chocolate, you have several delicious alternatives. Feel free to simply omit them for a pure dried cherry cookie, or swap them for semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips, or even butterscotch chips, depending on your preference.

How to Bake the Best Dried Cherry Cookies

Making these soft and chewy dried cherry cookies is surprisingly simple and straightforward. With just a few key steps, you’ll have a batch of delightful homemade cookies ready to enjoy. Let’s get baking!

Before you begin mixing, ensure your oven is preheated to the correct temperature. This ensures even baking from the moment your cookies enter the oven. Next, prepare a baking sheet (or two, if you plan to bake in batches) with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Silicone baking mats are highly recommended for their non-stick properties, reusability, and easy cleanup, making them an excellent investment for any avid baker.

Creaming Butter & Sugar for the Perfect Base

In a large mixing bowl, combine the room temperature unsalted butter with both granulated sugar and brown sugar. Using either a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or an electric hand mixer, beat these ingredients together until the mixture becomes light, fluffy, and pale in color. This process, known as creaming, typically takes about 2-3 minutes. Creaming properly incorporates air into the butter and sugar, which is crucial for achieving that desirable soft and chewy cookie texture and helping the cookies rise nicely.

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Incorporating the Egg and Yolk for Richness

Once your butter and sugar mixture is light and fluffy, it’s time to add the egg and the extra egg yolk. Beat these into the mixture until they are thoroughly combined and no streaks of egg remain. It’s helpful to pause and use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. This ensures that all ingredients are fully incorporated into the batter, preventing any unmixed pockets of sugar or butter that could affect the final cookie texture.

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Combining the Dry Ingredients for Cookie Dough

Now, it’s time to introduce the dry ingredients. Add the measured all-purpose flour, baking soda, and kosher salt to the wet mixture. Begin mixing on the lowest speed to prevent the flour from creating a cloud and escaping the bowl. Once the flour is mostly incorporated, increase the mixer speed to medium and continue beating until a cohesive cookie dough forms. Be careful not to overmix at this stage, as overworking the gluten in the flour can lead to tough cookies.

Finally, gently stir in the dried cherries and white chocolate chips. You can do this by hand with a sturdy spatula or on the lowest mixer speed, just until they are evenly distributed throughout the dough. You want every cookie to have a generous amount of these delicious add-ins!

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Scooping and Baking for Golden Perfection

Using a small portion scoop (about 1.5 tablespoons) is key to ensuring your dried cherry cookies are uniformly sized and bake evenly. Scoop about six cookie dough balls onto your prepared sheet pan, leaving enough space between them for spreading. Place the sheet pan into your preheated oven and bake for approximately 11 to 12 minutes. The exact baking time may vary slightly depending on your oven, so keep a close eye on them.

The trick to perfectly soft and chewy cookies is to remove them from the oven when their edges are just golden brown, but their centers still look slightly underdone and puffy. Resist the urge to bake them until they look completely set, as cookies continue to cook and set up as they cool on the hot baking sheet. This underbaked appearance in the center is exactly what gives you that coveted soft, gooey texture. Once baked, let the cookies cool on the sheet pan for about 5-10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. This crucial step allows them to firm up and prevents them from falling apart.

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Top Tips for Baking Phenomenal Dried Cherry Cookies

Achieving the perfect batch of soft and chewy dried cherry cookies is easier than you think with these expert tips:

• Do not overbake the cookies! This is the most crucial tip for soft and chewy cookies. As mentioned, the cookies should look slightly underdone and puffy in the center when you pull them from the oven. The edges should be just set and lightly golden. If the entire cookie looks firm and golden brown, it’s already overbaked, resulting in a drier, crispier cookie rather than the desired chewy one. They will continue to set as they cool.
• Use a portion scoop for perfectly sized and uniform cookies. I keep both a small (1.5 tbsp) and a large (3 tbsp) portion scoop in my kitchen, and they are invaluable! For these dried cherry cookies, the small scoop ensures that every cookie is consistently sized, which leads to even baking and a beautiful presentation. Uniform cookies also cook in the same amount of time, preventing some from being underdone and others overdone.
• Allow the dried cherry cookies to cool on the sheet pan. This step is often overlooked but incredibly important. Hot cookies are fragile and structurally weak; attempting to move them too soon will likely result in them falling apart. Let them rest on the warm baking sheet for at least 5-10 minutes after removing them from the oven. This allows the internal structure to firm up before you transfer them gently to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Ensure all cold ingredients are at room temperature. This includes your butter and egg. Room temperature ingredients emulsify much better, creating a smooth, homogenous dough. Cold butter will result in a lumpy, inconsistent batter, and cold eggs can cause the butter to seize. Plan ahead and take them out of the fridge at least 30-60 minutes before you start baking.
• Measure flour accurately. Reiterate the “spoon and level” method. Too much flour is a common baking mistake that leads to dry, dense cookies. A kitchen scale provides the most accurate measurement if you want to be extra precise.
• Don’t skip the salt! Even in sweet recipes, salt is vital. Kosher salt (or fine sea salt) balances the sweetness and enhances all the other flavors in the cookie, particularly the tartness of the cherries.

Storing and Freezing Your Delicious Dried Cherry Cookies

Once you’ve baked a batch of these wonderful dried cherry cookies, you’ll want to ensure they stay fresh for as long as possible. They’re also perfect for making ahead and freezing!

How to Store Baked Cookies

For optimal freshness, allow your baked dried cherry cookies to cool completely before storing them. Storing warm cookies in an airtight container or bag will trap moisture, leading to condensation and causing the cookies to become soggy and spoil faster. Once fully cooled, transfer the cookies to an airtight container or a heavy-duty resealable Ziplock bag. Store them at room temperature, and they will retain their soft and chewy texture for up to 4 days.

Freezing Options: Baked and Unbaked

These dried cherry cookies are excellent candidates for freezing, whether baked or as dough, allowing you to enjoy them fresh whenever a craving strikes.

To freeze baked cookies: Once the cookies have cooled completely, arrange them in a single layer on a baking sheet and flash freeze them for about 30 minutes until solid. This prevents them from sticking together. Then, transfer the frozen cookies to a freezer-safe Ziplock bag or an airtight container, separating layers with parchment paper if stacking. Use a sharpie to label the bag with the date. For the best quality, enjoy them within 3 months of freezing. Simply thaw at room temperature before serving.

To freeze unbaked cookie dough: This is a fantastic way to have fresh, warm cookies on demand! Scoop the cookie dough into individual portions using your cookie scoop, then place the dough balls onto a plate or a small baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Freeze for at least 1-2 hours, or until the dough balls are solid. Once frozen, transfer the solid dough balls to a freezer-safe Ziplock bag. When you’re ready to bake, simply place the frozen dough balls on a prepared baking sheet and bake as directed in the recipe, adding an extra 1-3 minutes to the baking time as needed.

To thaw frozen cookies: If thawing baked cookies, you can either let them sit at room temperature for about 15-30 minutes until defrosted, or for a quicker treat, gently warm them in the microwave. Place one cookie on a paper towel and microwave in 15-second increments until it’s just warm and defrosted, but not overheated, which can make it tough or crumbly.

Delicious Variations for Your Dried Cherry Cookies

While the classic dried cherry and white chocolate combination is fantastic, these cookies are incredibly adaptable. Here are some ideas to customize your next batch:

• Dark chocolate: For a more intense, less sweet flavor profile, swap the white chocolate chips with your favorite dark chocolate chips or chunks. Semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate pairs beautifully with the tartness of the cherries, creating a sophisticated dessert.
• Nutty delight: If you love a bit of crunch, ditch the chocolate altogether and introduce some nuts! Toasted walnuts, pecans, or slivered almonds would be excellent choices, adding a delightful texture and earthy flavor that complements the dried cherries. For extra flavor, lightly toast your nuts before adding them to the dough.
• Dairy-free version: For those with dietary restrictions, these cookies can easily be made dairy-free. Simply swap the unsalted butter with your favorite brand of vegan buttery sticks. Ensure all other ingredients are also dairy-free (check white chocolate chip labels carefully or opt for a pure cherry and nut version).
• Citrus zest: A teaspoon of orange or lemon zest folded into the dough can brighten the flavor wonderfully, enhancing the fruitiness of the dried cherries.
• Warm spices: For a cozy, spiced twist, add a pinch of cinnamon, nutmeg, or even a touch of cardamom to the dry ingredients. These spices pair exceptionally well with cherries.
• Other dried fruits: Don’t limit yourself to cherries! Experiment with other dried fruits like cranberries, blueberries, apricots (chopped), or even a mixed berry blend for a different fruity cookie experience.

Frequently Asked Questions About Dried Cherry Cookies

More Irresistible Cookie Recipes to Try

If you’ve loved these dried cherry cookies, you’re in for a treat with these other fantastic cookie recipes:

• Chewy Mixed Nuts Cookies
• Oreo Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Chocolate Chip Marshmallow Cookies
• Flourless Oatmeal Cookies