It’s National Dark Chocolate Day and for once, I’ve got a recipe ready to share that aligns with the right day! Maybe I’m starting to get the hang of this blogging thing, HA! If a cookie could be sexy, my Dark Chocolate Cherry Cookies would definitely fall in that category! These cookies are rich, chocolatey, tart, and sprinkle a little sea salt for the perfect balance of flavor. Dare I say, these cookies would be a fabulous Valentine’s Day cookie! Also, how is it almost Valentine’s Day? Where did January go?
The base of this recipe started with the dough from my Browned Butter Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies, but I wanted a different texture for these cookies. I wanted a crispy edge and soft center. So I played around with the recipe for a couple of weeks before landing on the perfect dough for this cookie. I mean, perfect. The edges get so delicately crispy and the center stays chewy and gooey. I’ve taken these cookies to three different events over the last month and they disappear every time!
Keys to Success
- Use 60%-70% dark chocolate. Don’t be afraid of using a really dark chocolate! The tartness of the dried cherries, sea salt, and the dark brown sugar in the recipe balance any bitterness you may find challenging when using dark chocolates. I love the Ghirardelli 60% cocao baking chips I find at Walmart.
- Dark brown sugar is best! Could you use light brown in this recipe if that’s all you have, sure you could! I do recommend going for the Dark brown sugar for the best cookie. Using dark brown will result in a richer taste and it will also result in the best texture for this particular cookie.
- Pre-mix the cherries and chocolate chips. I take this extra step to make sure that when I’m stirring in the cherries and chocolate chips I’m getting a really even distribution throughout the entire batch of dough.
- ALWAYS LINE YOUR BAKING SHEET! I probably should have put this first if I’m going to put it in all-caps…but, we’ll just call this a reward for reading all the way through. Because of the amount of butter in this dough, you will want to make sure you line the baking sheet with parchment paper OR these amazing silicone baking mats I found on Amazon. You’ll prevent burning the bottom of your cookies AND clean-up is a breeze!
- Don’t short yourself on cherries in the grocery store! Dried fruit typically comes in 4-5oz bags in the stores I frequent. You’ll need to purchase 2 bags to have enough cherries.
Dark Chocolate Cherry Cookies
Equipment
- Large mixing bowl
- Wooden spoon
- cookie sheet
- medium cookie scoop
- parchment paper or silicone baking liner
- large skillet
- Whisk
- Measuring cups and spoons
Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter 2 sticks
- 1 cup dark brown sugar packed
- ½ cup granulated white sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups dark chocolate chips
- 1 ½ cups dried cherries
- 2 teaspoons flakey sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F
- In a large skillet, add the butter and melt over medium to begin making the browned butter.
- While stirring continuously, allow the butter to come to a boil and watch the butter closely as it begins to boil. After coming to a boil the butter will begin to develop a foam on top before it turns to an amber brown. Once the foam is gone and the butter has turned amber brown, approximately 3-4 minutes, remove from heat and transfer to a medium mixing bowl to stop the cooking and set aside to cool.
- Stir together the dark brown sugar, granulated sugar, vanilla, and baking soda and add to the cooled butter. Stir 3-4 times with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, just to start incorporating.
- Add the eggs to the sugar/butter mixture and stir until mixture is homogeneous
- Combine the dried cherries and chocolate chips and stir to evenly mix
- Add the flour, and stir with the wooden spoon to combine. Once the flour is mostly combined add the cherries and chocolate chips stir until evenly combined. There will be enough dough for two full cookie sheets of 12.
- On a parchment paper or silicone lined cookie sheet, using a medium cookie scoop or rounded tablespoon portions of the cookie dough spaced approximately 2 inches apart. Repeat on a second cookie sheet if you're baking both batches at once.
- Bake for 9-10 minutes or until the cookies are golden brown.
- Allow to cool on the pan for 5 -10 minutes before moving to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Nutrition
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