It drives my husband nuts that I don’t just stick to chocolate chip cookies – I always have to try new recipes. Very few cookies stack up to the good old-fashioned favorite – but I know they are out there, and I have to find them. Chocolate and cherries is a winning combination – the tartness of the cherry with the bittersweet chocolate is a match made in heaven. I actually had some good chocolate in the house left over from the holidays that I chopped up for these cookies, and I thought they were fabulous. My daughter was licking the bowl clean – yes, they were exceptional before baking. I saw this recipe in Cooking Light – and at less than 100 calories per cookie, they were calling out for me to bake them. I made them slightly bigger than a tablespoon, so maybe mine were a little more than 100 calories, but still. I adjusted the baking time below, because they were browning pretty quickly, so make sure to keep an eye on them.
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup whole-wheat flour
- 1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 6 Tbl. unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 cup dried cherries
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
- cooking spray
Preparation
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
Weigh or lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flours and next 3 ingredients (through salt) in a large bowl; stir with a whisk.
Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat; add brown sugar, stirring until smooth. Add sugar mixture to flour mixture; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add cherries, vanilla, and egg; beat until combined. Fold in chocolate.
Drop dough by tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto baking sheets coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-11 minutes. Cool on pans 3 minutes or until almost firm. Remove cookies from pans; cool on wire racks. Makes about 30 cookies depending on the size.
For a printer-friendly version of this recipe, click here: Chocolate Cherry Cookies
First Look, Then Cook 