These Black Forest cookies capture everything you love about a classic Black Forest cake: fudgy chocolate cookies finished with stabilized whipped cream and a bright, sweet cherry topping.
A traditional Black Forest cake features layers of moist chocolate cake filled with sweetened whipped cream and cherries. It’s a timeless dessert, especially delightful during cherry season. These cookies shrink that experience down to a single bite: thick, fudgy chocolate cookies topped with stabilized whipped cream and a spoonful of cherry sauce.
The recipe is built in three parts: chocolate cookies, stabilized whipped cream, and a cherry sauce. The cookies are dense and chewy with an intense chocolate flavor. Once fully cooled, each cookie receives a dollop of stabilized whipped cream and a spoonful of cherry sauce. If you prefer, you can use fresh pitted cherries in place of the sauce, but the cooked sauce adds a concentrated cherry flavor and glossy finish.
Many cookie versions simply fold dried cherries into chocolate dough, which is delicious but different from true Black Forest flavor. For these cookies I wanted the authentic combination of whipped cream and fresh cherry flavor, so stabilized whipped cream is essential for decorating and keeping the topping intact.
Making Black Forest Cookies
This recipe includes three components: the chocolate cookies, stabilized whipped cream, and cherry sauce. Though it involves a few steps, it’s far easier than baking a full Black Forest cake and yields the same beloved flavor profile in a convenient, handheld form.
Chocolate Cookies: Start by whisking together the dry ingredients—flour, Dutch-processed cocoa, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, cream the butter with the brown and granulated sugars, then mix in the eggs and vanilla. The extra brown sugar keeps these cookies chewy and thick. Gently fold the dry ingredients into the butter mixture, taking care not to overmix. Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes or up to 48 hours. Form the dough into balls about 1½–2 tablespoons each (roughly 60 g if you prefer weighing). Bake until the tops look set. While the cookies are still warm, press a flat-bottomed glass lightly into each cookie to flatten the tops—this creates a stable surface for the toppings.
Stabilized Whipped Cream: To ensure the whipped cream holds up on the cookies, we stabilize it by incorporating cream cheese. Beat softened cream cheese with a little granulated sugar until smooth, then slowly drizzle in cold whipping cream (33–35% milk fat) while whipping until the mixture is thick and holds shape. This yields a rich, pipeable cream that won’t weep quickly when combined with the cherry sauce.
Cherry Sauce: The cherry sauce can be made from fresh or frozen pitted cherries; fresh fruit is preferred in season. Add cherries, sugar, and lemon juice to a saucepan and cook over low–medium heat until the cherries soften and release their juices. Remove from heat and whisk in a small amount of cornstarch dissolved in water to thicken. Let the sauce cool completely before using; it will thicken further as it cools.
Assembling the Cookies: Ensure both the cookies and the cherry sauce are fully cooled before assembly—any warmth will cause the whipped cream to melt. Place a dollop of stabilized whipped cream on each cookie (or pipe a round dollop), then top with a spoonful of cherry sauce. Use the back of a spoon to press the center of the whipped cream slightly to form a shallow bowl so the cherry sauce sits neatly on top.
Make Ahead Tips
Prepare the cookie dough a day in advance and refrigerate it, or chill for at least 30 minutes before baking. Baked cookies can be cooled and stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two days before assembling.
The cherry sauce can be made up to three days ahead—cool completely and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Make the whipped cream and assemble the cookies as close to serving time as possible for the best texture and appearance. Once assembled, store the finished cookies refrigerated.
More Recipes for Cherry Season
- Cherry Crisp
- Cherry Crumb Bars
- Black Forest Brownies
- Black Forest Cheesecake
Black Forest Cookies
Equipment
- Cookie sheets
Ingredients
Cherry Sauce
- 2 cups cherries, pitted and halved or quartered
- ½ cup granulated sugar (100 g)
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon water
Chocolate Cookies
- 2¼ cups all-purpose flour (282 g)
- ¾ cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder (60 g)
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter (226 g), softened but slightly cool
- 1 cup brown sugar (210 g), packed (dark preferred)
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200 g)
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Whipped Cream
- 6 ounces cream cheese (170 g), full-fat brick style
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar (67 g)
- 1 cup whipping cream (240 ml), 33–35% milk fat, cold
Instructions
Cherry Sauce
- Add cherries, sugar, and lemon juice to a medium saucepan over low–medium heat. Stir gently as the cherries soften and release their juices.
- When the cherries have softened, remove from heat. Whisk cornstarch with water in a small bowl and stir into the cherry mixture. The sauce will thicken as it cools.
- Cool completely and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Chocolate Cookies
- Sift together flour, cocoa, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk to combine and set aside.
- In a separate bowl, beat the butter with the brown and granulated sugars until smooth and free of lumps. Scrape down the bowl.
- Add the eggs and vanilla to the butter mixture and mix until combined.
- On low speed, add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture in two additions, scraping the bowl between additions to ensure even mixing.
- Cover the dough and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 48 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Scoop dough into balls about 1½–2 tablespoons each (approximately 60 g if weighing). Place on prepared sheets and bake 11–13 minutes, until the tops appear set.
- Remove from the oven and immediately press a flat-bottomed glass gently into each cookie to flatten the top. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet.
Whipped Cream
- Using a whisk attachment on a stand or hand mixer, beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth and free of lumps, scraping the bowl as needed.
- With the mixer running on low, drizzle in the cold whipping cream and continue beating until the mixture becomes thick and holds its shape.
Decorate
- Confirm that cookies and cherry sauce are completely cooled.
- Top each cookie with a dollop of stabilized whipped cream (or pipe a large round dollop). Use the back of a spoon to press a slight indentation in the cream to form a small bowl.
- Spoon a portion of cherry sauce into the center of each whipped cream dollop. Serve immediately or keep refrigerated until serving.
Notes
- Cocoa: Dutch-processed cocoa provides a deeper, rounder chocolate flavor and is recommended for best results.
- Nutrition: Nutrition figures are estimates per cookie, assuming the recipe yields 30 cookies of equal size.
- Storage: Store assembled cookies refrigerated in an airtight container and try to serve them soon after assembling for the best texture.