These Gluten-Free White Chocolate Cherry Almond Cookies are the kind of cookies I want when I'm making something a little more special than a standard chocolate chip cookie.
They're big bakery-style cookies made with chopped white chocolate, dried tart cherries, Marcona almonds, and flaky sea salt, with each cookie portioned at about 100 grams before baking.
I took inspiration from the long-chilled, oversized Jacques Torres/NYT-style chocolate chip cookie and went in a completely different direction with the mix-ins. I also made the dough gluten-free using Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour.
The combination is really good: sweet white chocolate, chewy tart cherries, salty buttery almonds, and enough flaky salt on top to keep the cookie from becoming too sweet.
And I don't rush the dough. It gets a full 24–36 hour rest in the refrigerator before baking.
These would be especially good for a Christmas cookie box or holiday dessert tray, but I honestly wouldn't save them only for December.
Try These Next
If you're in the mood for another classic-style cookie, try my Old-Fashioned Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies.
For another recipe built around cherries, my Chewy Vintage Cherry Coconut Cookie Bars are completely different but fit especially well into holiday baking.
And if you like old-fashioned bakery-style cookies, save my Malted Milk Snickerdoodle Cookies too.
Why You'll Love These Cookies
Bakery-sized: Each cookie starts with about 100 grams of dough, so these are big cookies with substantial centers.
Sweet and tart: White chocolate and dried tart cherries balance each other really well.
Marcona almonds: They add a salty, buttery crunch that keeps the cookie interesting.
Gluten-free: I use Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour for the entire flour portion.
Long dough rest: The dough chills for 24–36 hours before baking.
Great holiday cookie: The white chocolate and red tart cherries make these look naturally festive without sprinkles or icing.
Freezer-friendly dough: You can portion the dough ahead and freeze the unbaked cookie balls for later.
What Makes These Different From a Regular White Chocolate Cherry Cookie?
Mostly the size and the amount of stuff inside them.
There are 300 grams of chopped white chocolate, 150 grams of dried tart cherries, and 117 grams of Marcona almonds in this batch.
That's a lot of mix-ins.
I also chop the white chocolate instead of relying entirely on uniform chips. That gives you small shards in some bites and bigger melted pockets in others.
The cookies themselves are portioned much larger than an everyday drop cookie.
At about 3½ ounces or 100 grams each, the goal is a golden exterior with a thick center that stays softer than the edges.
Then the flaky sea salt goes on top.
I wouldn't skip that part. There is a lot of white chocolate in these cookies, and the extra salt helps balance it.
Ingredients
Cookie Dough
- 482g Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour
- 1¼ teaspoons baking soda
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1½ teaspoons coarse salt
- 1¼ cups (2½ sticks / 284g) unsalted butter, softened
- 1¼ cups packed (283g) light brown sugar
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons (227g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Mix-Ins
- 300g chopped white chocolate
- 150g dried tart cherries
- 117g Marcona almonds, roughly chopped
For Finishing
- Flaky sea salt
Ingredient Notes
Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour
This is the gluten-free flour I used to build the recipe.
I wouldn't automatically swap in almond flour or coconut flour. Those aren't 1-to-1 replacements and would make this an entirely different cookie.
Another cup-for-cup gluten-free baking blend may work, but different blends absorb moisture and spread differently.
That's one reason the test cookie is especially useful with this recipe.
White Chocolate
Use chopped white chocolate rather than chopping it so finely that it disappears into the dough.
I like having visible chunks throughout the cookies.
Save a few pieces to press into the tops of the portioned dough before baking. That little step makes the finished cookies look considerably better.
Dried Tart Cherries
Use dried tart cherries, not fresh or frozen cherries.
Fresh fruit would introduce a completely different amount of moisture into this dough.
The dried cherries stay chewy and give you concentrated tart cherry flavor against all of that sweet white chocolate.
Marcona Almonds
Marcona almonds are one of the things that make these cookies feel a little different.
I roughly chop them so you still get obvious pieces rather than almond dust.
Their salty, buttery flavor is especially good with white chocolate and tart cherries.
If your Marcona almonds are already salted, keep that in mind when you're adding the flaky salt on top. You want that salty-sweet finish, but the cookie shouldn't taste aggressively salty.
Flaky Sea Salt
Add this right before baking.
You only need a light sprinkle.
Why Chill the Cookie Dough for 24–36 Hours?
This isn't a cookie dough where I mix it and immediately turn on the oven.
The finished dough gets tightly covered and refrigerated for 24–36 hours.
The rest gives the gluten-free flour time to fully hydrate and lets the butter firm back up before the cookies hit the hot oven.
It also makes this recipe really convenient for entertaining.
You can make the dough one day and worry about baking the cookies the next day.
The dough will be quite firm when it first comes out of the refrigerator. That's normal.
If it's too hard to portion, give it about 10–15 minutes at room temperature—just enough to make it workable.
Don't let it sit around until the butter becomes soft again.
Equipment
Because these are 100-gram cookies, a scale is genuinely useful.
I use a digital kitchen scale to portion every cookie instead of guessing by eye.
A KitchenAid hand mixer works well for creaming the butter and sugars, and a sturdy silicone spatula makes folding in all of the chocolate, cherries, and almonds much easier.
You will also need:
- Large mixing bowls
- Baking sheets
- Parchment paper
- Cooling rack
Tools I Use for This Recipe
Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour, 22 oz (4 Pack)
The exact cup-for-cup gluten-free flour used to develop this cookie dough.
365 Sour Cherries, 8 oz
A suggested dried tart cherry option for chewy fruit flavor without adding fresh-fruit moisture.
Yupik Roasted Sea Salted Marcona Almonds
A suggested salty, buttery Marcona almond option for the recipe's signature crunch.
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How to Make Gluten-Free White Chocolate Cherry Almond Cookies
1. Mix the Dry Ingredients
Add the gluten-free flour, baking soda, baking powder, and coarse salt to a bowl.
Whisk everything together well.
Set aside.
2. Cream the Butter and Sugars
Add the softened butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar to a large mixing bowl.
Beat for 4–5 minutes.
The mixture should look noticeably lighter and fluffier than when you started.
This is one step I wouldn't rush.
3. Add the Eggs and Vanilla
Beat in the eggs one at a time.
Let the first egg incorporate before adding the second.
Mix in the vanilla.
4. Add the Flour
Add the dry mixture to the butter mixture.
Mix on low just until the flour disappears and a thick cookie dough forms.
Don't keep running the mixer once the dough has come together.
5. Fold in the Mix-Ins
Add the:
- 300g chopped white chocolate
- 150g dried tart cherries
- 117g chopped Marcona almonds
Fold everything through the dough until the mix-ins look evenly distributed.
There's a lot going into this dough, so use a sturdy spatula.
6. Chill for 24–36 Hours
Cover the bowl tightly.
Refrigerate for 24–36 hours.
This is part of the recipe, not an optional five-minute chill while the oven preheats.
How to Bake the Cookies
1. Preheat the Oven
Heat the oven to 350°F.
Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Let the Dough Become Scoopable
Take the dough out of the refrigerator.
If it's extremely hard, let it sit at room temperature for 10–15 minutes.
You want it firm and cold but workable.
3. Portion 100-Gram Cookies
Weigh out approximately 100 grams / 3½ ounces of dough per cookie.
This should give you roughly 16–18 large cookies.
Shape each portion into a tall, rough mound.
Don't roll it into a perfectly smooth, tightly packed ball and don't flatten it into a disk.
A taller mound gives the cookie some room to spread while keeping the center thick.
4. Make the Tops Look Good
Press a few extra pieces of white chocolate, dried tart cherry, and almond into the exposed surface of each dough ball.
This doesn't change the recipe.
It just means you can actually see what's inside the cookie after it bakes.
5. Add Flaky Salt
Sprinkle the top of each cookie lightly with flaky sea salt.
6. Bake One Test Cookie First
For the first bake, I strongly recommend putting one cookie in the oven by itself.
Bake at 350°F and start checking around 16 minutes.
The expected baking window is approximately 16–20 minutes.
That first cookie tells you exactly how this gluten-free dough is behaving in your oven before you commit an entire tray.
7. Look at the Edges and Center
The cookie is ready when the edges look golden and set but the center still looks soft.
Do not wait for the entire center to look fully dry.
These are large cookies, and they'll continue setting on the hot baking sheet after they leave the oven.
8. Cool on the Pan
Leave the cookies on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes.
Do not immediately try moving a hot 100-gram gluten-free cookie onto a rack.
Once they've firmed enough to move safely, transfer them to a cooling rack.
What Should the Finished Cookie Look Like?
You're looking for a large, thick cookie with golden edges and a soft center.
The white chocolate should be visible throughout the cookie rather than disappearing completely into the dough.
You should also get chewy bites of tart cherry and pieces of Marcona almond throughout.
The center is supposed to look slightly softer than the outside when it first comes out of the oven.
That's part of what gives a large bakery-style cookie its texture.
What If My Test Cookie Doesn't Spread Enough?
Give the remaining dough another 10–15 minutes at room temperature.
You can also very lightly press down the top of each portion before baking.
Don't smash the dough flat.
You're just giving it a small head start.
What If My Test Cookie Spreads Too Much?
Keep the rest of the dough colder.
Portion the cookies and return the dough balls to the refrigerator before baking.
If necessary, bake them directly from the refrigerator.
That's exactly why I like using one test cookie with a gluten-free adaptation instead of discovering the entire tray needed an adjustment.
Expert Tips
Use a scale. At this size, 75 grams and 110 grams are completely different cookies with different baking times.
Keep the dough cold. Let it soften only enough to portion.
Don't finely chop the mix-ins. You want recognizable chocolate, cherries, and almonds.
Bake one test cookie. It's the easiest way to dial in your exact oven and dough temperature.
Watch the edges more than the center. The edges should be golden while the center remains soft.
Leave them on the baking sheet. Ten minutes of residual heat helps the center finish setting.
Save mix-ins for the tops. It's the easiest bakery-cookie trick there is.
Variations
Regular Almonds
If you can't find Marcona almonds, you could try regular roasted almonds.
They'll have a firmer crunch and slightly different flavor, so I would still choose Marcona almonds when possible.
White Chocolate Chips
White chocolate chips can work in place of chopped chocolate, but I prefer the irregular pieces you get from chopping a bar.
Dark Chocolate
If white chocolate is too sweet for you, dark chocolate would make a much less sweet cookie.
I haven't tested that version, but tart cherry, dark chocolate, and almond are a natural combination.
Dried Cranberries
Dried cranberries would be the closest holiday-style swap for the tart cherries.
Again, that's a variation rather than the tested recipe.
Storage
Store completely cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for about 3 days.
The centers will firm slightly as they sit, but the cookies should remain soft inside.
If you want that just-baked texture again, warm an individual cookie briefly before eating.
Freezing the Cookie Dough
This is actually how I prefer to freeze them.
Portion the dough into 100-gram mounds first.
Freeze them on a baking sheet until firm, then transfer the frozen dough balls into a freezer bag or airtight container.
Bake from frozen, adding a few extra minutes as needed.
Because the centers of these cookies are supposed to stay soft, judge doneness by the set golden edges rather than waiting for the center to become completely firm.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do these cookies need to chill for 24–36 hours?
The long rest gives the gluten-free flour time to hydrate and firms the butter before baking.
It's an intentional part of this bakery-style cookie.
Can I bake the dough the same day?
You physically can bake cookie dough without waiting 24 hours, but that isn't the method I developed this version around.
For the intended texture and spread, I would give it the full chill.
Can I use regular all-purpose flour?
I wouldn't treat it as a direct swap.
This recipe was made specifically with Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour. Changing to wheat flour would turn it into a different formula.
Can I use another gluten-free flour blend?
Another 1-to-1 baking flour may work, but different blends can absorb moisture and spread differently.
If you change the flour, definitely bake one test cookie first.
Can I use fresh cherries?
No, I would stick with dried tart cherries.
Fresh or frozen cherries contain substantially more water and would change the dough.
Why are the cookies so large?
They're intentionally bakery-style.
At around 100 grams each, you can get a thick center while still developing golden edges.
Can I make smaller cookies?
You can portion smaller cookies, but the 16–20 minute baking window will no longer apply.
Start checking smaller cookies much earlier.
Why do you bake a test cookie?
This version adapts a large bakery-style cookie to gluten-free flour.
A single test cookie shows you how much your chilled dough spreads in your specific oven before baking the rest of the batch.
How do I know when the cookies are done?
Look for golden, set edges and a center that still looks slightly soft.
Don't wait until the middle looks completely dry.
Can I freeze the dough?
Yes.
Portion it first, freeze the dough balls until firm, then transfer them to a freezer-safe bag or container.
You Might Also Like
For another cookie with a classic bakery feel, make my Old-Fashioned Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies.
If the tart cherry is what you love here, try my Chewy Vintage Cherry Coconut Cookie Bars.
And for another traditional cookie that works beautifully during the holidays, try my Malted Milk Snickerdoodles.
Final Thoughts
There is nothing macro-friendly about these cookies, and that's completely intentional.
Sometimes I just want to make a really good cookie.
This one happens to be gluten-free, but I didn't want that to be the entire personality of the recipe.
I wanted a huge bakery-style cookie loaded with chopped white chocolate, chewy tart cherries, and salty Marcona almonds.
Give the dough the full 24–36 hour rest, portion it at 100 grams, and bake a single test cookie before you commit the whole tray.
Once you have the timing dialed in for your oven, the rest is easy.
BAKE THIS NEXT
White Chocolate Cherry Almond Cookies
Ingredients
- 482 g Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour
- 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
- 1 1/4 cups unsalted butter 2 1/2 sticks / 284g, softened
- 1 1/4 cups light brown sugar 283g, packed
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar 227g
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 300 g white chocolate chopped
- 150 g dried tart cherries
- 117 g Marcona almonds roughly chopped
- flaky sea salt for finishing
Method
- Whisk together the gluten-free flour, baking soda, baking powder, and coarse salt. Set aside.
- Beat the softened butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar for 4–5 minutes, until noticeably lighter and fluffy.
- Beat in the eggs one at a time, allowing the first to incorporate before adding the second. Mix in the vanilla.
- Add the flour mixture and mix on low just until the flour disappears and a thick cookie dough forms. Avoid overmixing.
- Fold in the chopped white chocolate, dried tart cherries, and chopped Marcona almonds until evenly distributed.
- Cover the dough tightly and refrigerate for 24–36 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- If the dough is extremely firm, let it sit at room temperature for 10–15 minutes, just until it can be portioned without becoming warm.
- Portion approximately 100g / 3 1/2 ounces of dough per cookie and shape each portion into a tall, rough mound.
- Press a few visible pieces of white chocolate, dried tart cherry, and Marcona almond into the top of each cookie and sprinkle lightly with flaky sea salt.
- Bake one test cookie first. Bake at 350°F and begin checking at 16 minutes.
- Bake for approximately 16–20 minutes, until the edges are golden and set while the center still looks soft and slightly underdone.
- Leave the cookies on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes so the centers can continue setting from the residual heat.
- Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack once they are firm enough to move.
Notes
Tried this recipe?
Mention or tag @bakedlean!One response to “Gluten-Free White Chocolate Cherry Almond Cookies”
Amazing amazing amazing
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