Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, and salt.

Add in the maple syrup, coconut oil, and vanilla, and start mixing it with a spoon until the dough forms. It might be easier to do this with your hands as the dough will be thick. If the dough is too thick and crumbly, add a splash more coconut oil until it comes together.

Roll out the dough between two sheets of parchment paper until it’s about 1/4″ thick. Use a 1″ or 2″ cookie cutter to cut out the cookie dough. You can re-roll the dough scraps to stamp out more cookies, if needed.

Place the cookie dough rounds on the baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes, until the tops of the cookies are lightly browned.

Remove from the oven and allow cookies to cool completely. They will harden as they cool.

In a small saucepan, combine all of the ingredients, except for the (optional) cherry juice.

Cook over low heat until the mixture simmers and thickens. Remove from heat and transfer to a heatproof bowl.

Optional: stir in the cherry juice, one spoonful at a time, until the desired color is achieved.

Allow cream to cool completely. It will stiffen as it cools. You can speed this up by placing it in the fridge, and removing it a few minutes before you’re ready to assemble your cookies.

To assemble your cookies, spread 1-2 tsp of the cream onto half of the cookies, and then top with another cookie.