Cherry Walnut Cookies
An old fashioned cookie recipe inspired by my Mom. These Cherry Walnut cookies combine the great flavors of maraschino cherries, walnuts and coconut.
Cherry Walnut cookies is an old fashioned cookie recipe my Mom made often. She called them John Deere Cookies; I have no idea why other than the fact that my Dad worked as a mechanic for John Deere and he loved these cookies!
This is a very special post to me. I baked these cherry walnut cookies with my Mom when she was in the nursing home. She had to move into a nursing home due to her progressive dementia-Alzheimers. Since originally publishing this post in 2016, my Mom passed away. One Mom’s favorite things to do was bake, and with 5 kids to feed her baking was quickly devoured!
This delicious cookie recipe comes from my Mom’s old recipe scribbler. Over the years I have enjoyed many of my Mom’s favorite recipes which are handwritten with special notes. Cecilia was a great baker and her recipes for Poppy Seed Chiffon Cake and Homemade Angel Food cake are exceptional!
Ingredients
- Maraschino cherries – these are preserved cherries usually found in the ice cream topping section of grocery stores.
- Walnuts
- Coconut – I use sweetened shredded coconut.
- Flour – all purpose flour
- Butter – unsalted butter. If you use salted butter reduce added salt to 1/2 teaspoon.
- Brown sugar – golden brown sugar.
- Egg – 1 large whole egg
- Vanilla – for superior flavor used pure vanilla extract.
- Milk – 2% or whole milk
- Baking Soda
- Salt
Substitutions
- Candied cherries or dried cherries can be substituted for the maraschino cherries.
- Pecans, hazelnuts or almonds.
- Unsweetened coconut, desiccated coconut.
- Add some chocolate chips.
Pro Tips for making Cherry Walnut cookies
- Drain and pat dry the maraschino cherries to remove extra liquid.
- Use a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop, it is a great tool for making perfectly sized cookies.
- These cookies freeze very well! Store in airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Mission accomplished! Everyone came see where that delicious smell was coming from. She was quite proud of her freshly baked cookies that were enjoyed by the staff and other residents.
Baking cookies in the nursing home was a great way to spend the day with Mom! I am thankful to the staff at St Mary’s Villa in Humboldt for letting us use their kitchen.
My Mom’s old fashioned recipes
My Mom was an exceptional baker and these are some of her beloved recipes!
This post was originally published March 20, 2016. Occasionally I update with fresh tips, photos and content. Current update December 20, 2023.
Cherry Walnut Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup shredded coconut
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1/2 cup walnuts chopped
- 1/2 cup maraschino cherries drained, pat dry, chopped into pieces
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350º F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Blend together the flour, coconut, baking soda and salt.
- Place butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl and beat until fluffy. Use a standing mixer with paddle attachment.
- Add in the egg and vanilla extract.
- Stir in 1/2 flour mixture and combine well.
- Add the milk and combine. Blend in the remaining flour mixture.
- Mix in the walnuts and maraschino cherries.
- Scoop out 1 heaping tablespoon of the dough and form into a ball.
- Place on cookie sheet. Press dough down slightly with a fork.
- Bake 350º F for 10-12 minutes
- Transfer to wire rack to cool.
Nutrition
VERY NICE! WHAT A SPECIAL MOMENT FOR YOU AND MOM!
It was a very special time with Mom.
I love that you have this special memory with your mom.
Thanks Kristen, my Mom really enjoyed baking, it has been a while since she was able to do it.
Oh, yeah, these look terrific! They’d be great for the holidays—though I want them now 🙂
P.S. My mom passed away from Alzheimer’s last year–it’s a rough road, but you’ll never regret the time you spend with her. xoxo
I so sorry about your Mom Liz, yes it is a tough road, especially for my Dad who is still at home. You are so right about how precious spending time with both my elderly parents is.
That’s so nice you got to bake with your mom. The quality time is so important!
What a sweet post!
Such a SWEEET post!!!
I want to give your mom a hug! She looks like she is having such a great time! The cookies look delicious too!
Awe that is so sweet, it was a very nice way to spend some time with my Mom.
It is funny how food preparation brings back memory and moments to treasure. Her eyes are all sparkly and she looks like both of you are having fun. What a lovely thing to do with her. I shall think of you both every time I make these wonderful cookies! The taste is so homey and comforting. These are in now in my “Heirloom recipe” folder. Thank you so much for sharing this memory and recipe.
thank you so very much Wendy for your kind words. This was a very special time with my Mom. She has declined significantly since this time, so I am so very glad I took photos and some video of us together baking.