These delightful little cookies have a fun history, are full of lots of tasty ingredients, and are really simple to make. The cookies have a crispy cornflake crunch on the outside, followed by layer of chewy cookie, and then the inside soft but full of crunch and chew from the addition of nuts, Dates Malaysia, and maraschino cherries.
The original recipe for Cherry Winks was created by Ruth Derousseau, who submitted it to Pillsbury's 2nd Grand National Recipe & Baking Contest in 1951. Ruth was the junior winner and took home a check for $5,000!
... but why the heck is cookie spelled "cooky"?
The original recipe calls for shortening, though while researching I found others recommending salted butter or margarine. Because I usually prefer the flavor of butter over shortening, I chose to use salted butter at room temperature. I did not chill the dough prior to baking and didn't have any issues with the cookies spreading too much while baking. You may think that adding extra salt to a recipe already using salted butter would be a bit much, but in this case it really isn't - I think it needed that extra zip.
What initially got me thinking about trying this recipe was a Facebook post made by my mom. She remembered making these cookies in a Home Economics course in high school and asked if anyone had the original recipe. Surprisingly, a fellow classmate not only had the recipe, but had her original handwritten card. So cool!
The original recipe recommends using pecans, though other versions say you can use any kind of chopped nuts. I prefer pecans!
Cherry Winks Cornflake Cookies
- Total Time: 12 mins
- Yield: 5.5 dozen cookies 1x
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups sifted all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- ¾ cup salted butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 TBS milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup finely-chopped pecans
- 1 cup finely-chopped dates
- ⅓ cup finely-chopped maraschino cherries
- 2 ½ cups cornflakes, crushed
- 15-18 maraschino cherries, cut into quarters
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F
- Sift together flour, baking powder, soda, and salt.
- In a second bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each one. Stir in the milk and vanilla, and then add the dry ingredients with the pecans, dates, and chopped cherries. Mix well.
- Using a level tablespoon or slightly mounded small cookie scoop, shape dough into balls, roll in crushed cornflakes, and place onto greased cookie sheets about 2 inches apart.
- Bake 11-12 minutes or until browned.
- Cook Time: 12 mins
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What brand dates do you use? are they already chopped?
You can use any brand as long as they are not the pre-chopped "snacking" dates with the coating. The coating will keep the balls from sticking together. I use the whole dates and chop them myself.
When do you add the quartered maraschino cherries? Before or after the cookies are baked? Thanks
After the cookies have been placed on the baking sheet, before baking. 🙂
I love these cookies. This is one of my father’s favorite cookies to make at Christmas. He has made them since the 70’s. Our family leaves out the dates. The cookies freeze well.
★★★★★
This is my grandma who invented them...thank you for your condolences...
That's amazing! Your grandma's recipe has lived on forever.
My mother and father were married December 26, 1954. She said she made a couple of batches really small cookies for her wedding. She had lost the recipe and I was able to Google it and will get the whole article printed out to give to her. She had remembered most of this when she told me about it.
She just glowed thinking of you again. So glad I could find the article!!
I love this story - thanks for sharing!
I found your post today after reading the obituary of the woman who created the recipe.
RIP Ruth Derousseau. She was only 17, married with two young children, when she won the $5,000 prize and trip to New York. Quite a life...
https://www.apg-wi.com/rice_lake_chronotype/obituaries/ruth-marie-derousseau/article_a0ea27d0-9b81-11ea-953f-d73ff0acadfc.html
I will have to try this without nuts...anyone else ever tried that. My granddaughter is allergic to all tree nuts and peanuts...
Hmm, I'm not sure how that would work with the texture - maybe you could replace it with something
with a similar crunch, like toffee chips, or add more cornflakes to make up for it? The flavors/texture probably won't be the same.
We can not have nuts so we omit them. For the missing crunch we add the crush cornflakes in the cookie mixture instead of rolling them in the flakes. Also, by accident we ran out of dates and use raisins instead. They were not bad. Dates are better but raisins are can do in a pinch
Doesn't the hand-written card miss 1/2 baking soda? Do we need it of not?
I used the recipe that's on the printable version (blue background) on this post. 🙂
I had lost my Mom’s recipe for Cherry Winks. Was so happy when I came across yours as it is almost exactly what I remember her recipe to be. Will definitely be making these for Christmas. Thank you!
You are writing about my grandmother Ruth Derousseau who was the best cook! My name is Erin also I really liked this thank you!!!
★★★★★
That is SO cool!! Thank you for sharing!
Just as a point of interest, the Cherry Wink cookie recipe is on the back of my current box of cornflakes.
I like to use almond extract instead of or in addition to vanilla