Triple Chocolate Cherry Cookies

Yesterday I went to the gym.  Then, as I do every time I go to the gym, swung through Trader Joe’s for the essentials:  wine and cheese.  (Please note that I have a fully stocked wine fridge.  I need to buy a bottle every day to replace the hole left by the last one I drank).  Then, I came home and made these cookies and ate about 10 (five in cookie dough form, five in cookie form).  Luckily there were plenty left over to gift to my friend for his birthday, which was their original purpose.

What do you bake for someone who works between the Beverly Hills Hotel and Hotel Bel Air?  I mean, they are exposed to yummy food every day.  I figured making up a cookie that was totally over-the-top-luxurious would be just the thing.

Ingredients (Qty: 32 large cookies)

2 sticks of butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

2/3 cup brown sugar, preferably light

2 tsp vanilla extract (the real stuff thank you very much)

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup natural (ie not Dutch-process) cocoa powder, I like Ghiradelli’s

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup chocolate chips (buy nice chips or blocks of chocolate to break apart yourself)

1 cup white chocolate chips (ditto)

1/3 cup chopped dried montmorency cherries (or bing cherries, as they are more available)

**Time out for learning (yay!).  Dutch-processed cocoa beans have been washed with a solution that neutralizes their acidity.  This makes them, and their post-pulverization powder, darker and mellows the flavor.   In baking, you will see most natural cocoa powders are paired with baking soda, as the alkali cancels some of that acidity.

Method

1. 1.In a mixer, cream the butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and salt until.... creamy.  Duh.  Add the vanilla and eggs and beat well to combine.
2. 2.Combine the flour, cocoa powder and baking soda in a separate bowl (you can sift, I don’t like to sift for most cookies) and add to the butter mixture in three separate parts, mixing well between each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl.
3. 3.Add the chips and cherries and stir until just combined.
4. 4.Drop cookies at desired size onto an ungreased cookie sheets.
5. 5.Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes.  Maybe more (probably not less) depending on your oven, if you use convection, etc.  I did notice that they baked well at 350 in my other oven, so try that if you want.
6. 6.When ready, allow them to cool slightly and then transfer them to a wire rack to finish cooling.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
    how am i ever going to have a successful cookbook when i’ve been giving my recipes away for free?