Black Forest Cookies

These black forest cookies are thick and fudgy with a rich chocolate flavor. They're topped with whipped cream and sweet cherry sauce so they have everything you love about black forest cake, in a delicious cookie.

Prep Time45

Cook Time12

Cooling1

Total Time2

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Black Forest Cookies

Servings: cookies

Author: Fiona Dowling

Equipment

Cookie Sheets

Ingredients

Cherry Sauce

2 cups cherries pitted and sliced in half or quarters
½ cup granulated sugar (100 grams)
2 tablespoons lemon juice freshly squeezed
1 teaspoons cornstarch AKA cornflour
1 tablespoon water

Chocolate Cookies

2¼ cups all-purpose flour (282 grams) measured correctly
¾ cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder (60 grams)
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter (226 grams) softened, but still slightly cool to the touch
1 cup brown sugar (210 grams) I used dark
1 cup granulated sugar (200 grams)
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Whipped Cream

6 ounces cream cheese (170 grams) full-fat, brick style
⅓ cup granulated sugar (67 grams) or caster or berry sugar if you have it
1 cup whipping cream (240 ml) 33-35% MF, cold

Instructions

Cherry Sauce

Add the cherries, sugar and lemon juice to a medium saucepan over low-medium heat. Gently stir the mixture with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon as the cherries soften and release their juices.
Once the cherries are softened, remove from the heat. In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and water then pour into the cherry sauce. Stir together. The sauce will thicken slightly as it cools.
Cool fully, then store in the fridge in an airtight container until ready to use.

Chocolate Cookies

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, cornstarch, baking soda and salt. Whisk together. Set aside.
In a separate large bowl, beat together the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until there are no lumps of butter or brown sugar. Turn off the mixer and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
Mix the eggs and vanilla extract into the butter mixture.
With the mixer on a low speed, beat the dry ingredients into the butter mixture. I typically do this about ½ at a time. Turn off the mixer and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl a few times to ensure there aren't lumps of butter stuck to the bottom.
Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 48 hours.
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350℉ (180℃). Line the cookie sheets with parchment.
Scoop the dough into balls with about 1½ to 2 tablespoons of dough each. I weighed each of mine and made each 60 grams.
Bake in the middle of the preheated oven for about 11-13 minutes, or until the tops look set.
Remove from the oven. Right away, grab a water glass or some form of glass with a flat bottom. Use the flat bottom to gently press the top of the cookie down, so that the top is flatter. Continue to cool the cookies on the tray.

Whipped Cream

Using a stand or hand held mixer and larger bowl, use the whisk attachment to beat together the cream cheese and sugar until no lumps of cream cheese remain. Turn off the mixer and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl a few times. There will still be sugar granules.
Drizzle the whipping cream into bowl while mixing. Continue beating until thick and sturdy.

Decorate

Ensure the cookies and cherry sauce are fully cooled.
Top each cookie with a dollop of whipped cream. Alternatively, you can transfer the whipped cream to a large piping bag with a large round tip and squeeze a large dollop on top of each cookie. I like to take the back of a spoon to gently press down the middle of the whipped cream dollop to create a slight bowl shape.
Scoop a dollop of the cherry sauce on top of each cookie.

Notes

Cocoa: I recommend using Dutch-processed cocoa.
Nutrition: Details are an estimate only based on 1 cookie, assuming the recipe yields 30 uniform cookies.
Storage: Store cookies in the fridge in an airtight container in the fridge. I recommend serving these as close to assembling them as possible.

Nutrition