Chocolate-Cherry Cookies

From the kitchens of One Perfect Bite...I not always au courant when it comes to preparing sweet and happy endings for our meals. Truth be told, I'm an old stick-in-the-mud. It is rare for an old favorite to be bumped by a new creation. I'm an apple and berry and lemon girl, with what I'll admit is an unhealthy fondness for ice cream and cheesecake, and while I make the new desserts and cookies they rarely make more than one appearance at my table. Our holiday meal this weekend was elaborate and I wanted it to end it simply with an Irish coffee and a biscuit or two. I've watched several cookie recipes grow old as they queued on my to-do list and this seemed like a perfect time to let them come to the front of the line. I tried three recipes and while they are all lovely, only one of them caught my fancy. Today's cookie is nice and loads of people will love it, but I finally have to admit to myself that I don't like the chocolate-cherry combination. This started years ago with a Black Forest cake and it has not gotten better with the passage of time. My palate is convinced that anything sweeter than a sour cherry is on a par with cherry flavored cough syrup. So, I hope you'll keep that in mind when I tell you I won't be making this cookie again. It's a perfectly nice cookie but the flavor combination just does not sit well with me. If you enjoy the pairing of chocolate and cherry, I suspect you'll really like these cookies. The recipe is straight forward and the cookies are easy to make, though they need a 3 hour chill before baking. Tweeked versions of this recipe are everywhere, but the version I used is based on one that comes from the Better Homes and Gardens website.

Chocolate-Cherry Cookies...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Better Homes and Gardens

Ingredients:

8 ounces (2 sticks) butter, softened

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

2 large eggs

2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups dark chocolate chips

1 cup chopped dried cherries

Directions:

1) Mix butter and sugars together in bowl of an electric stand mixer. Add vanilla, nutmeg and eggs and mix until smooth.

2) Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl. Add flour mixture to creamed mixture in three parts, mixing until batter is smooth after each addition.

3) Stir in chocolate chips and cherries with a wooden spoon. Transfer batter to a large resealable plastic bag and refrigerate until firm, at least 3 hours.

4) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Scoop 1-inch spoonfuls of the dough onto an ungreased sheet pan. Place pan in oven and bake until edges are brown and the middles are golden, about 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool until warm or room temperature. Serve cookies immediately or keep for a few days before serving. Yield: 48 cookies.