Today’s recipe
Sometimes we feel the need to stray away from the Scandinavian influence on this blog and just share a recipe we’ve developed that we love! We can’t help it, it’s always fun to experiment with flavors and baking methods and we can’t always be constrained by our Scandinavian roots. This recipe was first tested out over the summer, when we were together in Austin, Texas. I wanted to bake cookies as a nice treat for everyone but, as usual, felt like I needed to try something new and different from a traditional chocolate chip cookie. We are big fans of dark chocolate in our family, so I knew I wanted to use that, and just had to think of a flavor that worked well with it. And what sounds better than cherry and dark chocolate cookies?
Different methods for different results
This recipe is not your usual chocolate chip cookie recipe because it makes more of a thick and cakey cookie. It’s not Levain-level thick but it’s not the usual flat and crispy/chewy chocolate chip cookie. Why is that? Well, we use softened butter instead of melted, which yields a cookie with a lighter and cakier texture due to more air being whipped into the dough from creaming the butter and sugar together. Melted or browned butter gives a fudgy and dense cookie, which has its time and place for sure, and we have a couple of recipes that use melted butter here: raspberry white chocolate oat cookies and orange and chocolate chip oat cookies. But for this recipe, we wanted the cherry and chocolate to be held in by more of a structured cookie instead of a thin and crispy one.
Delicious flavor combo: Cherry and dark chocolate cookies
As I mentioned before, I think cherry and dark chocolate is a phenomenal flavor combination, especially for the colder winter months. If you’ve ever had Ben and Jerry’s Cherry Garcia ice cream, you’ll know exactly what we mean. Cherry is a fruit that’s both sweet and tart at the same time, which adds such a great balance to the bitterness and richness of dark chocolate. Go with milk or white chocolate and it might be too sweet, so that’s why we chose dark chocolate to add the right level of complex flavor to these cookies. The base of the cookie dough has vanilla extract in it too, which creates the perfect base for the other two flavors to really shine. If you’re looking for another delicious cherry and chocolate recipe, check out our cherry almond brownies – they’re so good!
Ingredients and substitutions
For this recipe, you’ll need the standard cookie ingredients plus some extras. Start with some softened butter, unsalted or salted will both work but just adjust the salt you add to the dough accordingly. You could use vegan alternatives, margarine, or shortening if you prefer. Then, you’ll need both white and brown sugar. Honestly, we wouldn’t recommend substitutions here, as both play their part in giving the cookies their flavor and texture, but you can always experiment. You’ll need an egg and an egg yolk – this gives the dough a more tender and creamy texture when baked. Vanilla extract helps flavor the dough, and you can use vanilla bean paste instead. For the dry ingredients, you need all-purpose/plain flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. The add-ins are obvious: dried cherries and dark chocolate. You can definitely substitute these for other types of dried fruits and chocolate if you like.
How to make cherry and dark chocolate cookies
What is the process for making these cherry and dark chocolate cookies? As I mentioned, we first cream the softened butter and the two sugars together until light and fluffy, which gives the cookies structure. Add the eggs and vanilla and continue to whisk together. Combine the dry ingredients separately, then add them to the wet and fold until no dry spots remain. Add the cherries and chocolate, but reserve some for the tops of the cookies. Shape the dough into even-sized balls, either using a dough scoop or just a spoon, and put them on a lined baking sheet. Top with the extra cherries and chocolate that you reserved to make them look pretty. Bake for 10-12 minutes – keep an eye on them! – and take them out. Let them briefly cool on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!
Cherry and Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 200 grams butter, softened
- 100 grams granulated sugar
- 75 grams brown sugar
- 1 large egg (room temperature)
- 1 egg yolk (room temperature)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 300 grams all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 200 grams dried cherries
- 200 grams dark chocolate chips (or a chopped up bar of chocolate)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F (175 C).
- Beat together the softened butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. You can do this in a stand mixer, with an electric whisk, or by hand. In a stand mixer, we use the paddle attachment.
- Add the (room temp!!) egg and egg yolk, and vanilla extract and mix again until well combined, smooth, and fluffy. You may need to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula to get everything to mix evenly.
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. We like to whisk this together so there are no lumps and the leavening agents are evenly distributed.
- Add the dry ingredients into the butter mixture, and mix this until no dry floury spots remain. It should form a thick cookie dough.
- Finally, add nearly all of the cherries and dark chocolate chips (or chopped dark chocolate) and mix together again until they're well distributed. Reserve a few of each so you can put them on top of each cookie before they make – this is what makes them picture-perfect! If mixing this with a machine, you can use a spatula to help distribute the mix-ins more evenly.
- Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Shape the dough into about 20 equal-sized balls, placing 6-8 on each baking sheet and topping with the leftover cherries and chocolate. You'll need to do them in batches to bake all 20, or you can freeze the cookie dough balls at this stage to bake at a later time.
- Bake for 10 minutes and check them – they may need a few minutes more, or even a minute less, depending on your oven. They should be a nice golden brown color around the edges, and even though they may seem very soft in the middle, they will set as they cool and give a great chewy texture!
- Remember, cookies continue to bake and set on the baking sheet once you take them out of the oven, so leave them on the sheet for a few minutes before you remove them to cool on a wire rack. This helps them keep their shape.
- Enjoy!
