Cherry Bon Bon Cookies
Jan 25, 2017, Updated Nov 14, 2018
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Cherry bon bon cookies are a sweet bite of yum! Shortbread cookie wrapped around a cherry and topped with cherry frosting. These little cookies are always a big hit.
Wait a minute, it is almost February and we are fast approaching Valentine’s day!! Pretty sure Jay won’t be getting anything special except maybe these cute little cherry bon bon cookies. These cookies are the perfect little confection. Sugar cookie dough wrapped around a sweet maraschino cherry topped with a cherry frosting.
My mom would always make these for my sister and I around Valentine’s Day for a special treat. When she had her head turned I would sneak a few extra cherries. I am a huge cookie fan like these molasses ginger cookies and chewy cinnamon oatmeal cookies. These cherry bon bons are high on my cookie loving list.
Back to Valentine’s Day, now that we have kids we typically stay at home and celebrate. We try to do something fun with the kids and then after they go to bed have a “romantic dinner”. And by romantic I mean there is probably a few candles lit. 🙂 Jay usually makes a steak and twice baked potatoes and I take care of dessert. These cookies will definitely be part of the celebration.
To make these cookies, mix up the dough. It is a sugar cookie type dough that is delicious on it’s own. Take a pinch of dough and wrap it around a cherry making sure to cover the cherry so it is in the middle of the cookie. Roll to make a nice ball. Place the cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment and bake for 15 minutes.
The reserved cherry juice makes the perfect frosting adding a wonderfully sweet taste and beautiful pink color. You can spoon the frosting over the cookies or pipe it on.
What will you be doing for Valentine’s Day? Do you go out or stay in?
Cherry Bon Bon Cookies
Ingredients
- 24 maraschino cherries
- 1/2 cup softened butter
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Frosting
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 cup powder
- 1/4 cup cherry juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Drain cherries and keep juice.
- Beat 1/2 cup butter and 3/4 cup powdered sugar with a mixer.
- Mix in flour, salt, milk and vanilla.
- Form small 1 inch ball with dough and form around cherry.
- Continue until all of the dough is gone. About 24 balls.
- Place cookies on baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Bake for 15 minutes.
- Cool cookies on wire rack.
- In a small bowl, mix frosting ingredients. Once cookies are cooled, spread or pipe frosting on cookies.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Should you use salted or unsalted butter in the cookie and in the frosting?
You can use either but I prefer using unsalted butter.
Why do mine have a ring around the bottom? They didn’t stay in round balls like the photo!
From experience, either your oven was too hot (no such thing as a true temp oven, test batch and use a thermometer to figure out actual temps) and your dough wasn’t cool enough.
I’m just making these again this weekend. If cookies have “spread” instead of “puff” up it could be butter was too melted. Usually they come out good when you beat whole butter sticks, just room temp.
Do you know if you can freeze these? I’d like to make a batch for Christmas.
I will make these and add coconut to the frosting.
I’m making these for a cookie contest but my idea for the topping was doing the cherry glaze and than drizzling a little chocolate over that to make it more like a cherry cordial cookie. Hopefully it turns out!
The chocolate drizzle sounds like a great idea!
I had to chuckle when I read “powder” in your frosting recipe. Of course it is powdered sugar but it was funny to me!
Thanks for the yummy recipe. Definitely scale down on the liquid in the frosting. With powdered sugar a little goes a very long way. Start with a tablespoon, stir until smooth to the consistency you want adding additional juice very slowly.
👩🍳 Terry
The recipe tasted great but we only got about 13 out of the recipe and it was super crumbly.
We have made these for years at Christmas, using green glaze and red sprinkles. The secret is to make sure the cherries are REALLY well drained and both dough and cherries are refrigerated before assembling.The glaze is powdered sugar, water and food coloring. Then dip top of bon bon in glaze. Everyone loves them!
I am going to try the cherry juice in the glaze next time.
Just made these for a cookie exchange party. The recipe for the icing was way off. It called for 1/4 cup of cherry juice which was too much and cause the icing to be extremely runny and a lot darker pink than photographed.If you’re going to make these, I would start with a very small amount of cherry juice.
I’m sorry it came out too runny. Yes, you can definitely start with less cherry juice and just keep adding until you like the consistency.
Thank you, my mum used to make these for Christmas, I lost the recipe. Thanks again they’re so good!
Oh great! I know I always loved it when my mom made these for us!