Cherry & Chocolate Chip Cookies

While reading the July issue of Bon Appetit I came across a cookie recipe that sounded great!  The recipe is originally from Icing on the Cake, a bakery in Los Gatos, California. 

When the cookies first came out of the oven I wasn’t sure I liked them but one week later I’m loving them! One of the issues is that these cookies don’t really brown much on the tops.  I overcooked the first batch because they just seemed so pale.  Once I got used to the light color the other batches were easier to judge.   I’ve added some other notes at the end of the recipe that you may find helpful. 

Cherry and Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 1 cup dried tart cherries (5 ½ oz)
• ⅓ cup cherry liqueur
• 2 Tbsp water
• 1 ½ cups flour
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp baking soda
• ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup packed brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• ¼ tsp almond extract
• 1 ¼ cups semisweet chocolate chips (8 oz)
• 1 ¼ cups white chocolate chips (8 oz)

Preheat oven to 375°F.  Line baking sheets with parchment. 

Put cherries in a heat proof bowl. In a small pot bring water and cherry liqueur to a boil and then pour over the cherries.  Let sit for 15 minutes then drain the cherries and pat dry. 

Meanwhile, using an electric mixer beat butter and both sugars until fluffy.  Add eggs and both extracts and mix thoroughly. 

In a separate bowl mix together the flour, salt and baking soda.  Then add to the butter mixture and mix just until incorporated. 

Stir in cherries and chips. 

Scoop tablespoonfuls of dough onto baking sheets. 

Bake until edges of cookies are golden, about 12 minutes.  Transfer to a rack to cool. 

Notes:  I only used 2 Tbsp of cherry liqueur and increased the water a bit but I found that the cherry liqueur taste was a little strong.  I would either reduce the liqueur to 1 Tbsp or just use water next time. 

This recipe can easily be modified to suit your personal tastes by using different fruits, chocolates or adding nuts.  I reduced the amount of chips to 1 cup each, used milk chocolate in place of the white chocolate and added about ¾ cup of chopped walnuts.  I think toasted, slivered almonds would also be really good since almonds and cherries are really good together. 

I found the cookies did not spread much and my first batch stayed mounded, so for subsequent batches I flattened them a bit prior to baking.