We could be joking but we're not! Green cherry white chocolate chip cookies have a beautiful cracked top and bits of candied cherry with sweet white chocolate in every bite! Break out of tradition with these gorgeous cookies!
History Behind Green Cherries
The history behind green cherries is a little harder to find than their relative, the maraschino (red) cherry. Green cherries or green glace cherries, are often candied with a sweet and chewy texture to them. Some green cherries brands have peppermint extract added while other red cherry maraschino brands use almond extract. We even found one brand that has a lime flavored green cherry. Green cherries are not naturally occurring in color and often get their vibrant color from dyes.
Green maraschino cherries are prepared by soaking fresh picked cherries in a brine solution. This allows the cherry to become firm in texture. Once firm, they are then soaked in fresh water. After, they are dyed green, flavored, then packaged in a sugar syrup.
Purchasing or Making Green Cherries:
There are several brands of manufacturers you can purchase green cherries from:
Reese: Contains whole green maraschino cherries with stems.
Regal: Regal offers several varieties of green maraschino cherries including whole cherries with no stems or pits, whole cherries with stems, and lime flavored green cherries.
Paradise: Paradise offers both whole and halved green maraschino cherries as well as a variety of other candied fruits. It was the brand you see featured in this blog post.
To date we have not been able to find a recipe for making homemade green maraschino cherries. (If you find a recipe, please let us know and we will add it here!)
We were able to locate a company (Crafty Girl Teas) that sells homemade green maraschino cherries on Etsy.
We have not been able to find naturally dyed green maraschino cherries. Unfortunately naturally green dye is very difficult to use even in cakes and cookies and is susceptible to color changes at higher temperatures. Possibly for this reason we have been unable to find naturally dyed green maraschino cherries. (But we hope to find them in the future!)
Chocolate Matters
The type of white chocolate you use matters! You can use several types in this recipe but we do recommend using white chocolate versus white vanilla baking chips. You can use:
- Dairy free white chocolate chips if you are making a dairy free version of this recipe
- Guittard or Ghiradelli white chocolate chips
Related Recipes
Can't get enough? Try some of our favorite cherry recipes!
Storing
Storing the cookies is simple. They will keep in an airtight container for several days or you can freeze and thaw the cookies. Cookies can be frozen for up to a month.
Green Cherry White Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cup all purpose flour (can substitute gluten free flour)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup butter, softened (can substitute dairy free)
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar (can substitute for lower or no calorie sugar)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 whole egg
- 2 cups white chocolate chips (can substitute dairy free)
- 1 cup chopped green cherries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a cookie sheet and set aside. In a bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda and salt, then set aside. In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy (2-3 minutes). Reduce mixer speed to low, then add in the vanilla and egg, stirring until combined. Add the flour mixture and continue mixing until combined. Stir in the chopped cherries. Fold in white chocolate chips. Roll the dough into tablespoon sized balls, then place on cookie sheet, leaving space to spread between each cookie. Bake at 350 degrees for 9-12 minutes, or until cookies are lightly browned. Remove cookies from oven and allow to sit on baking sheet for several minutes before moving to a cooling rack to finish cooling completely. Drizzle or dip cookies in additional white chocolate if desired.
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