Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies

Quick. Go get some cherries. And make these cookies right away. In about 30 minutes you'll have delicious, perfectly sweet cherry chocolate chip cookies that even the most timid of bakers can whip up with ease. If your household is anything like the one I live in, you'll notice they don't last very long either; they're that good. Oh and did I mentioned I'm not really a fruit-lover?

I got the recipe out of the summer issue of the ever-so-fabulous Canadian Family Magazine where I am just wrapping up my summer internship (I just adore it there, it's going to hard to say goodbye!) There's a great section in the issue on cherries and all the tasty things you can do with them, so run out and pick up your copy of the magazine (who knows, maybe the news stand is next to the fruit one :)

I used about half a bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips but I bet chopped up baking squares would be equally as tasty and combined with the dried cherries, would make the cookies quite hearty and thick. I found the dried cherries in the bulk foods section at the grocery store and ended up using about 3/4 of a cup instead of a full cup. The recipe calls for 1/2 cup of brown sugar so I used a quarter of golden brown sugar and a quarter of dark brown sugar.

I baked 12 cookies at a time for 11 minutes and they were cooked perfectly. Slightly brown on the tops and delightfully moist on the inside. The batter made enough for 27 regular sized cookies and I rolled each clump of dough into a smooth ball before placing on the baking sheet. I think this helped keep the cookies plump and thick. Or maybe I'm just that good at making cookies? Who knows. All I know is they were tasty and loved by all.

Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies
from Canadian Family Magazine

1/2 cup butter, room temp

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg, room temp

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

splash of vanilla

half a bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 - 1 cup dried unsweetened cherries

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and line a metal baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, sugar and brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in your egg and vanilla, scraping down the sides to combine well. In another bowl, mix together your flour and baking soda; add it to the butter mixture and combine by hand until the dough is thick and incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips and cherries; be careful not to over mix.

You can drop by rounded spoonfuls onto the parchment paper, or use your hands to roll small smooth balls of dough before placing on your baking sheet. Bake 12 at a time for 10-12 minutes of until the very tops of your cookies start to turn light brown. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minute before placing the cookies on a cooling rack. Eat them up fast before anyone else comes to see what that delicious smell in your kitchen is. No need to store these in an air tight container. All 27 cookies will be gone in a few hours though. Enjoy :)