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Preheat the oven to 350°.
Cookies
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Place cherries on a plate lined with paper towels and let dry. Chop into bite-sized pieces.
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Combine the cream cheese and butter with a hand held mixer {or by hand} until you have a cream consistency. Add egg, vanilla extract, almond extract and 1 tablespoon cherry juice {2 tablespoons for extra cherry flavor}. Mix until incorporated. Finally, add the cake mix and mix until it is well combined and thick. Fold chopped cherries into the dough until they are evenly distributed.
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Scoop heaping tablespoons of dough {using a medium scoop or 1 1/2 tablespoons} onto a parchment {or silicone} lined baking sheet.
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Bake for 9-11 minutes or until the edges are set, they will appear to be a little undercooked but that is alright. Remove your cream cheese cake mix cookies from the oven and let them cool completely on the cookie sheet.
Topping
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Once cooled, sprinkle tops with powdered sugar. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 4-5 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
Notes
Feel free to use a different flavor of cake mix if you prefer. Vanilla or yellow cake mix would work well in this recipe, or you could even try a chocolate cake mix for a chocolate-cherry twist.
You can make the cookie dough up to 2 days in advance. Just store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator until you’re ready to bake. You may need to let the dough sit at room temperature for a few minutes to soften up before scooping and baking.
