Chocolate Cherry Cookies {Black Forest Cookies}

Quick and easy chocolate cherry cookies recipe with cake mix. These black forest cookies are filled with vanilla buttercream icing, cherry pie filling and chocolate shreds. Soft on the inside, crispy on the outside.

These cookies have all the flavors, and were actually inspired by, my Easy Black Forest Cake {With Cake Mix} but in cookie form. They are crispy and crunchy on the outside but soft on the inside making them great for cookie Christmas parties and cookie exchanges. The chocolate in this recipe comes from: cocoa powder in the cake mix and chocolate shreds topping.

Jump to:

• Key ingredients
• How to make easy chocolate cherry cookies recipe with cake mix?
• Variations
• Tips and techniques for Black Forest cookies
• Storage
• More cherry desserts
• Recipe

Key ingredients

• Cake mix- It should be chocolate flavored.
• Baking powder- This helps the cookies rise and expand.
• Eggs- These should be large and at room temperature.
• Oil- Make sure it's neutral tasting like canola, or vegetable or corn.
• Vanilla extract- This adds a lovely aroma.
• Sugar- Use granulated sugar for rolling cookie dough balls.
• Cherry pie filling- This can be homemade or store-bought.
• Frosting- I decided on American buttercream but you can pick any other flavor you like.

How to make easy chocolate cherry cookies recipe with cake mix?

1. Mix ingredients- Including cake mix powder, baking powder, eggs, oil, vanilla extract.
2. Roll dough- Into ball shapes.
3. Roll dough balls- In granulated sugar.
4. Bake- After indenting the center.
5. Cool cookies- Then fill with buttercream, pie filling and decorate with chocolate shavings.

Variations

• Use Maraschino Cherries- Instead of cherry pie filling, fill each cookie with maraschino cherry frosting and decorate with a maraschino cherry.
• Add oatmeal- For a chewy version add ⅓ cup oatmeal in the cookie dough.
• Mix in white chocolate- Stir in ½ cup mini white chocolate chips in the cookie dough.
• Add dark chocolate- Use dark chocolate shreds and you can even stir in dark chocolate chips in the cookie dough.
• Make them chocolate covered- After the cookies have cooled down, dip each cookie in melted chocolate and then add the toppings.
• Add a chocolate kiss-  Bake the cookies, as per my instructions below. Then, place a Kiss chocolate in the center of each cookie.
• Add dried cherries- Stir in ⅓ cup chopped dried cherries in the cookie dough.
• Use whipped cream- Instead of American buttercream icing. Check out this post on How to Make Homemade Stabilized Whipped Cream.
• Try other filling combinations- Such as How to Make Raspberry Pie Filling and Chocolate Buttercream Frosting Recipe, How to Make Strawberry Pie Filling and White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting, or Blackberry Buttercream Frosting with fresh blackberries on top.
• Get a stronger cherry flavor- Replace the American buttercream with my Maraschino Cherry Frosting.

Tips and techniques for Black Forest cookies

• Don't use butter instead of oil- Because oil yields the best texture. Best choices are: vegetable, light olive oil, corn or canola.
• Homemade vs. store-bought- Cherry pie filling and buttercream frosting can be store-bought or homemade.
• I highly recommend rolling the cookie balls in granulated sugar- Because it gives these cookies a crispy top.
• Once filled, you cannot store these cookies for too many days- Because the cherry pie filling can make the cookies a bit soggy. I only recommend 1-2 days.
• What cake mix to use? My favorite choice is Devil's food cake mix because it has a rich chocolate flavor but you can also use chocolate cake mix. I have used various brands to test this recipe and all the results were almost the same. Use whichever brand you like.
• Indent the cookies before and after baking- Because when you remove the cookies from the oven, you will notice the indentations are not that deep anymore. Press the back of a wooden spoon or the round bottom of a measuring spoon into the center again. You must do this quickly before the cookies have a chance to cool down.
• Why are my cookies flat? Why did my cookies spread? This occurs when there is not enough flour to bind the fats together so make sure that you measure the ingredients carefully and accurately.
• Cool cookies completely before adding the toppings- Because this prevents them from melting and sliding right off the cookies.
• Don't over-mix the dough- Because that alters the texture and makes tough cookies.

Storage

• Refrigerate- In a sealed container for 1 day, if they have already been filled.
• Freeze- Raw cookie dough balls can be stored in a sealed container for up to 1 month. When you are ready to enjoy them, roll them in granulated sugar, bake, cool and fill, as per instructions below. Add a couple more minutes to the baking time since the dough will be frozen.
• Room temperature- This is not recommended for more than 3-5 hours because the fillings can go bad.
• Make ahead- These can easily be made 1-2 days in advance.

More cherry desserts

• Chocolate Cherry Cupcakes
• Easy Cherry Cake (Cake Mix)
• Easy Cherry Turnovers (With Puff Pastry)
• Easy Cherry Pie
• Gooey Brownies (Chocolate Cherry Brownies)

Recipe