Double Chocolate Goodness

Time is short. We're almost halfway through our chocolate advent calendar and there's still so much baking to be done. New cookies to try, old favorites to produce, and somewhere in there get my kitchen cleaned to the point where I can actually see the counters again. (Too many bookmarked cookbooks piled everywhere!) So today I'm not going to bore entertain you with a rambling anecdote. We'll get right to the meat of the matter. Or, more appropriately, the chocolate of the matter. Double chocolate in fact.

I've had a copy of this recipe from the August issue of Gourmet sitting on my pile for months. When I finally got around to making them, I wondered why on earth I'd taken so long. They are fabulous! Moist chocolatey cookies with chunks of chocolate, pecans, and dried sour cherries. They're wonderful fresh, but they mature nicely in the cookie jar. The dried fruit keeps the cookie soft and chewy for up to a 5 days in an airtight container, if for some reason they hang around that long.

If you wanted to dress them up for a party, you could drizzle a little ganache over the top, but for taste, they are delightful as is. Lots of chocolatey goodness with the crunch of nuts and the tangy counterpoint of sour cherries. Mmmm. This recipe is staying in my keeper pile!

Cherry Double-Chocolate Cookies
adapted from Gourmet

makes about 2 dozen cookies

1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
Scant 12 tsp salt
1-1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1-1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
3-1/2 oz. fine-quality milk chocolate, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
1 cup pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped
1 cup dried sour cherries

1- Preheat oven to 375 deg. F with racks in upper and lower thirds.

2- In a small bowl whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.

3- Beat together the butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, then add eggs 1 at a time, beating until combined well. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture, mixing until just combined. Add chocolate chunks, pecans, and cherries and mix until just incorporated.

4- Drop 2 level Tablespoons of dough per cookie about 2 inches apart onto 2 ungreased large baking sheets. With dampened fingers, flatten cookies slighty.

5- Bake, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, top to bottom and rotating the sheets. After 12 to 1 minutes the cookies should be puffed and set. Transfer cookies to a rack to cool.