Indulge in these irresistible Black Forest cookies that combine rich chocolate with tart cherries for a bakery-quality treat you can make at home. Perfect for holiday cookie exchanges, afternoon tea, or midnight snack cravings!
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There’s something magical about the combination of chocolate and cherries that transforms an ordinary cookie into something extraordinary. These Black Forest cookies capture all the flavors of the classic German cake but in a convenient, hand-held form that kids and adults alike will adore.
What makes these cookies truly special is their gorgeous crackled exterior that gives way to a fudgy, brownie-like interior studded with bursts of tart cherries and melty chocolate chips.
They’re impressive enough for company but simple enough for a weeknight baking project with the little ones. The powdered sugar coating creates that beautiful snowfall effect that makes these cookies look as spectacular as they taste!
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Why You’ll Love This Black Forest Cookies Recipe
- Perfect Texture Contrast: These cookies have a delightful crackly exterior with a soft, fudgy center that mimics the beloved texture of brownies.
- Make-Ahead Friendly: The dough can be prepared in advance and refrigerated, allowing you to bake fresh cookies whenever the craving strikes.
- Crowd-Pleasing Flavor: The combination of rich chocolate and tart cherries offers a sophisticated flavor profile that appeals to both children and adults.
- Visually Stunning: Their crackled, powdered sugar appearance makes them gorgeous additions to any cookie platter without requiring decorating skills.
🍪 My kids absolutely love it when I surprise them with any type of chocolate cookies — it makes the day special!
Recipe Ingredients
- All-purpose flour
- Granulated sugar
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Butter — unsalted
- Cocoa powder — not Dutch process
- Eggs
- Chocolate extract
- Vanilla extract
- Chocolate chips — I like semi-sweet in this recipe.
- Dried tart cherries
- Powdered sugar
See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How To Make Black Forest Cookies
Step 1: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together in a bowl.
Step 2: Melt butter in a second small bowl in a microwave or a small saucepan over low heat. Add cocoa to melted butter, whisking until smooth. Stir in the eggs, chocolate and vanilla extracts, fully blending in each one before adding the next.
Step 3: Stir chocolate mixture into flour mixture just until combined. Fold chocolate chips and cherries into the dough until evenly distributed.
Step 4: Shape into generous 2-inch balls using a cookie scoop or a heaping tablespoon measure. Roll balls in granulated sugar, then roll balls in powdered sugar (use lots of powdered sugar).
Step 5: Place on prepared baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake for 12 – 14 minutes or until cookies are cracked, yet still soft. (The look a bit uncooked even when they’re done.) Let cookies cool on the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack.
Recipe FAQs
While maraschino cherries have that classic Black Forest look, they contain too much moisture for these cookies. If you can’t find dried tart cherries, try dried cranberries as a suitable substitute that still provides that fruity tartness.
The most common culprit is warm dough. If your kitchen is warm or you’ve been handling the dough extensively, refrigerate it for 30 minutes before baking. Also, make sure your baking sheets are completely cool between batches.
Absolutely! These Black Forest cookies freeze beautifully for up to 3 months. For best results, freeze the formed dough balls before baking, or freeze completely cooled baked cookies in an airtight container with parchment paper between layers.
The signature crackled top comes from rolling the cookies thoroughly in both granulated and powdered sugar. Be generous with the powdered sugar coating—it should look almost excessive before baking.
Expert Tips
- Quality Matters: Use high-quality cocoa powder for the richest chocolate flavor. Natural cocoa powder (not Dutch-processed) works best in this recipe as it reacts with the baking powder.
- Cherry Preparation: Chop the dried cherries if they’re particularly large to ensure even distribution throughout the dough.
- Double Coating: Don’t skip either sugar coating step! The granulated sugar helps the powdered sugar adhere better and creates that perfect crackle effect.
- Parchment Is Your Friend: These cookies can be sticky, so parchment paper is essential for easy removal from the baking sheet.
More Delicious Cookie Recipes to Consider
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Black Forest Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cup sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup 1 stick unsalted butter
- ⅔ cup cocoa powder not Dutch process
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon chocolate extract
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup dried tart cherries 1.5 ounces
- ½ granulated sugar
- ½ to 1 cup sifted powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together in a bowl.
- Melt butter in a second small bowl in a microwave or a small saucepan over low heat. Add cocoa to melted butter, whisking until smooth. Stir in the eggs, chocolate and vanilla extracts, fully blending in each one before adding the next.
- Stir chocolate mixture into flour mixture just until combined. Fold chocolate chips and cherries into the dough until evenly distributed.
- Shape into generous 2-inch balls using a cookie scoop or a heaping tablespoon measure. Roll balls in granulated sugar, then roll balls in powdered sugar (use lots of powdered sugar).
- Place on prepared baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake for 12 – 14 minutes or until cookies are cracked, yet still soft, do not overbake. (The look a bit uncooked even when they’re done.) Let cookies cool on the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack.
Notes
- These cookies should look slightly underdone when you remove them from the oven. The centers will continue to set as they cool. Look for cracked tops and set edges, even if the center appears a bit soft.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for the full 5 minutes before transferring. They’re very soft when hot and need this time to set up properly.
- Don’t skip either sugar coating step! The granulated sugar helps the powdered sugar adhere better and creates that perfect crackle effect.
- Natural cocoa powder (not Dutch-processed) works best in this recipe as it reacts with the baking powder.
Lee
Could I use cut up glazed cherries in place of the dried ones?
Sarah Schulner
can i make these without the dried cherries?
Melissa Griffiths
Yep and you can always sub something else like dried cranberries if you’d like.
LInda T MacGregor
I made this recipe this past weekend and my batter was really dry. I don’t know if I did something wrong.
Barbara Schieving
Hi Linda – often how you measure your flour makes a big difference. Here’s a post about it https://www.barbarabakes.com/how-to-measure-flour/
Lisha
Just wondering if you can refrigerate the dough before using? I have a cookie making day on Sunday and was hoping to prep the dough a few days early but wasn’t sure if it would impact the crinkle if I do not bake them right away?
Barbara Schieving
Hi Lisha – I haven’t tried it, but you should be fine to make the dough a few days ahead and keep it in the refrigerator. I don’t think it will impact the crinkle at all. Let me know how it goes. Happy holidays!
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella
I must send this recipe to a Black Forest obsessed friend of mine. She’d love them. I also just bought some dried Bing cherries! 😀
Brenda
Made these today and turned out terrific. I found that the dough was sticky when rolling so I found it easier to roll 12 cookies, each time placing in the granular sugar, then once all sitting in the granular sugar coat and then move over to the powdered sugar. I only needed to cook for 12 minutes. They are now in the freezer ready for next week.
Barbara Schieving
Hi Brenda. Thanks for sharing your tip. Glad you enjoyed the cookies.
Lindsay
I am thinking of making these for an event in the future. Does anyone know if these freeze well?? They sound delicious!
Barbara Schieving
Hi Lindsay – I’m sorry I don’t have any experience freezing these. My guess is they would freeze just fine.
cindy harris
Black Forest is my favorite flavor combo. They look delish!
Anne
Oh my goodness! I can practically inhale these – because I love a combo crunchy-soft cookie. Can’t wait to try them! What a great assortment you have here.
Jane
The above recipe doesn’t have enough liquid. I added three tablespoons of hot water. Two wasn’t enough, but three was slightly too much. Little harder to work with.
Taste was exceptional!
Melissa Griffiths
I assume you just measured you flour a little more heavily than I did, glad you could get them to work out.