Tuesday, August 11, 2009

[Cookie 032] Dark Chocolate Cookies with Sour Cherries

Dark Chocolate Cookies with Sour Cherries

Well, I am back. I realize I forgot to mention that I would be gone in the first place, so let me make amends. I went on a 6 day backpacking trip up in the mountains of the Sierra Nevada with my mom and dad, trekking on a 40-mile loop near the John Muir Wilderness. We explored the Rae Lakes, climbed a mountain (Glenn Pass), and smelled terribly. For more on this, please check my other blog some time this week, where I'll be posting pictures and more details! It was beyond fabulous!!

Dollar Lake

Anyway, in the world of cookies, all was silent on the western front. Except I had made a batch of cookies before I left that I failed to post about until now. So without further ado, I bring you my foray into the world of the Dark Chocolate Cookie with Sour Cherries.

Dark Chocolate Cookies with Sour Cherries

Ever since I first used dried cherries in a recipe, I was completely addicted to their tart flavor and perfect chewiness. You get so accustomed to raisins as the go-to dried fruit in cookies, so switching it up with the dried cherry was a very exciting thing for me. Because I get very excited about cookies. As you can probably tell. Often.

Cocoa Powder etc. for Dark Chocolate Cookies with Sour Cherries

Anyway, concerning the cookie itself, I'm all over it. It's great. Fab and fantastic. Intense--like, "I can only eat 1 at a time even though I want to eat 7" intense. They are extremely chocolatey, rich, and chewy, and with the added sour cherries you really get something to write home about (if you do that). This is a cookie that comes with a mandatory glass of milk, which trust me, you will need. Get my drift yet?

Dark Chocolate Cookies with Sour Cherries Dough

And what's more, the recipe is simple and fun to make, and produces a dough that can be frozen for up to a month! So you can bake a few today, a few tomorrow, and maybe a few the next day, but I doubt you'll have any dough left after that. But wait, back to the specifics of the recipe. As I was saying, it's a lot of fun to make because--like most drop cookies--you just throw together a bunch of ingredients and plop the dough onto the baking sheet. You end up with a dough that is so rich in unsweetened cocoa that it is nearly black save for the dark reds of the cherries and lighter browns of the semi-sweet chocolate chunks. Very beautiful indeed.

Dark Chocolate Cookies with Sour Cherries Dough

However, Martha instructs you to roll balls of dough that are about 1/4 cup volume. Now, take a moment to envision that. That is completely, absurdly, ridiculously GIGANTIC! I'm as much a fan of the oversized cookie as the next person, but with a cookie that is so intensely flavored, you really won't be able to finish a whole cookie in one sitting! I eyeballed it and made the balls into what size I thought would be good (about 1" diameter). Then into the oven, then onto the cooling rack, then into my mouth. Perfection.

Dark Chocolate Cookies with Sour Cherries

So in conclusion, this cookie is for the dark chocolate lovers out there--but specifically those who are looking for a little bit more in their life. A little something extra, a little kick in the butt. You know. Now stop reading this and go buy some sour cherries and get on it!

Dark Chocolate Cookies with Sour Cherries

Dark Chocolate Cookies with Sour Cherries
Makes about 3 dozen

Ingredients
  • 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/4 cups unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup firmly packed dark-brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
  • 1 1/2 cups dried sour cherries, firmly packed (9 ounces)

Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
  2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla extract; beat until well combined. Add the flour mixture, and beat on low speed, until just combined. Do not overbeat. With a wooden spoon, fold in chocolate and cherries. (Dough can be frozen at this point, wrapped well in plastic, up to 1 month; thaw completely before baking.)
  3. Form balls of dough, each about 1/4 cup; place balls on baking sheet about 3 inches apart. Bake until puffed and cracked, 9 to 11 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container, at room temperature, up to 3 days.
****

{End Results}
Baking Difficultly: 2/5
Ingredient Accessibility: 2/5 (Unfortunately, dried cherries can be a little pricey)
Tastiness: 4.5/5 (But I'm a devoted dark-chocolate lover...)
Attractiveness: 4/5 (Black and red cookies?! Yes!)
Is it worth it?: Yes, duh.

{Pairings}
Drink: Milk, and lots of it.
Song: Chocolate Milk -- MF Doom
Activity: Midnight snackage!

17 comments:

Kim said...

These sound insanely delicious!! Looks like a beautiful trip with your parents!! Glad to hear you had a wonderful time : )

Unknown said...

Last night i saw Julie & Julia. Today, while deciding which cookies to make from Martha's cookbook, I found your blog. Weird!

I really like it though. It's a fun site. I'm trying the chocolate banana walnut ones, not a favorite of yours, but I'm trying them anyway.

Good luck with the rest of your cookies!

-SJ

Jill @ Jillicious Discoveries said...

These cookies look delicious! You had me at dark chocolate and then the cherries put me over the edge! Your pictures are beautiful!

hannah queen | honey & jam said...

These sound amazing! Plus, they are gorgeous. I'll have to try them soon.

Lizzie said...

kim- thanks! it really was!

kreuzberg- when the stars align, cosmic things can happen in the world of cookery! what a coincidence...anyway, glad you're trying the banana walnut ones. they are really good, in fact!

jill- thank you so much!

hannah- they really are amazing...you should definitely give it a go.

Lynne said...

This is my first visit to your blog! Love it, and the cookies look fabulous (coming from a fellow dark chocolate lover!).

Sophie said...

Gorgeous photos! Wow, what a beautiful view, sounds like you all had an awesome trip :)!

Anonymous said...

I've been following your blog since you started it - and I like it a lot. I was wondering if you considered already the adventureous cookies, like the candy-stripes or the sarah bernhardts...

Liz T. said...

These are definitely going on my list!

Lizzie said...

lynne- thanks so much! stay tuned...i'm so not done with chocolate!

sophie- many thanks...i really did have a fantastic time! no cookies on the trip, though (unfortunately)

thecookieshopenglish- well, i really need to get around to those tricky recipes, especially when i'm here at home in my nice kitchen, but i must admit--i'm afraid! but i think i'll be trying to make the fortune cookies sometime this summer!

liz- add them! add them!

Flike said...

i once accidentally made someone wait on my doorstep for two hours because i forgot to charge my cell phone. as an apology, i bought her a 50 dollar dark chocolate and cherry cake. It's a good combination, i must say.

Xiaolu said...

How perfect! Black and red are my fav colors, not to mention that the flavor combo sounds amazing. Thanks for sharing!

Flirting with Flour said...

Cute blog! I'm a student too. I'm in my senior year and am currently suffering baking withdrawals because of the beaucoups of work I have to do :( but I'm determined to make something soon and these sounds fantastic!

Anonymous said...

Hello, I came across your blog and was wondering if you can help me out. I made these cookies too and got the recipe from the same book I bought just last month. But when I made them- they turned into this dark brown puddle which I can't even lift off of the parchment. It was hard, crispy and chewy on the edges and almost uncooked in the center.
I used Ghirardelli dutch cocoa, can I ask which brand did you use and if you formed them smaller than 1/4 cup- how long did you bake them for? And, did you use Tollhouse chocolate morsels?

Lizzie said...

anonymous-

i definitely formed them smaller than 1/4 cup (that would be just too huge in my opinion), but other than that i think i followed the recipe straight on. I used some no-name brand of cocoa powder from this supermarket called Sprouts...don't know if you have that store where you are from. As for the chocolate morsels, I don't like tollhouse, so these are probably ghiradelli or maybe trader joes. If you try them again, I'd suggest making them smaller and keeping a close eye on them as they bake. If they are still spreading way too thin, try refrigerating the dough for an hour or two before you bake them!

Heather said...

just made these this past weekend, and was not disappointed! thanks for the recommendation, Lizzie. keep up the good work!

Anonymous said...

Fuck that shit