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Photo of chocolate cherry cookie bars stacked on a gray plat set on a marble table.

Chocolate Cherry Cookie Bars

  • Author: Lauren
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Total Time: 35 minutes
  • Yield: 32 cookies (or 50 *see note) 1x
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: American

Description

Easy chocolate cherry cookies bars that are perfect for holidays and sharing! These cookies are a cross between a chewy cherry cookie and chocolate bark, they’ve got everything you’re looking for in a cookie recipe for a crowd.


Ingredients

Scale
  • ¾ cup coconut sugar 
  • 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
  • ¾ cup whole-wheat pastry flour 
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar 
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
  • ¼ teaspoon salt 
  • 1 cup chopped dried cherries 
  • 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 12 pieces and softened 
  • 2 tablespoons cream cheese
  • 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract 
  • 1 ½ cups dark chocolate chips (or one 10-ounce bag) 
  • 1 ½ cups slivered almonds, toasted

Instructions

Heat oven to 375 with rack set in lower-middle position; line a full sized rimmed baking sheet (also called a half sheet pan, 18-inch x 13-inch) with parchment paper.

Grind coconut sugar to a powder in a spice grinder; add to a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add flours, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and salt to stand mixer; mix on low speed just to combine, 10 seconds. Add cherries and mix to combine, 5 seconds.

With mixer on low speed, add butter 1 piece at a time, continue to mix until mixture is crumbly and looks slightly wet, 1–2 minutes more. Add cream cheese and vanilla and mix until a dough forms around the paddle, 1 minute more. 

Press dough evenly onto prepared baking sheet, (I like to alternate between my hands and a rolling pin to help spread the dough to the edges). 

Bake cookies until golden brown, about 20 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking. 

Remove sheet from oven and immediately sprinkle chocolate chips over the top; let sit 3 minutes. Spread chocolate into an even layer then sprinkle with almonds. Let cool on a wire rack 20 minutes. 

Using a pizza wheel or large chef’s knife, cut cookies on the diagonal into 1½✕2-inch diamonds. Transfer cookies back to sheet and chill 30 minutes until chocolate is set.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature (or in the refrigerator) for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 1 month. 


Notes

To make 50 cookies: cut cooking into 1½✕1½-inch cookies.   A full-sized rimmed baking sheet is 18″ x 26″. If you have a slightly smaller sized baking sheet, no problem, these will still work. I would recommend baking them just a few more minutes.

Baking sheet sizes: if you have a slightly smaller baking sheet that’s OK, go ahead and use it as directed in the recipe. The cookie may need a few more minutes in the oven. If you have a sheet pan that’s half the size of what’s called for, bake the cookie in two batches. 


Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 cookie
  • Calories: 162
  • Sugar: 12g
  • Sodium: 52mg
  • Fat: 9g
  • Saturated Fat: 5g
  • Carbohydrates: 20g
  • Fiber: 1g
  • Protein: 3g
  • Cholesterol: 12mg
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