Cookie Days #1: Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies

Yesterday I referenced some cookies that were getting in the way of real meals around my house. I’d like to take the rest of this week to tell you all about them! How does that sound? Well, if it doesn’t sound good, then click away because that is the plan, Stan.

So, anyways. Cookies.

About a month ago, right before Thanksgiving, I received a holiday mailer from Sam’s Club. We’re members, so it wasn’t too big of a surprise. I normally toss that sort of thing, but for some reason decided to flip through the ads just to see what kind of goodies they were trying to sell me today. I mean, I already buy my carrots in 5 pound bags and can get enough oats to last a year [for real]. But lo and behold, from the pages of a Sam’s Club advertisement, a recipe caught my eye. A cookie recipe, to be exact, one that would have been the bane of my third grade school Christmas gift exchange: Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies.

See, as a third grader, I hated those little fake-sweet things with a passion, and arrived home in tears right before Christmas break because my Secret Santa got me a fancy box of them tied with a bow. This was devastating to the girl who only wanted a troll or a Barbie or whatever was in in third grade. Devastating, I say. Just ask my mom.

Now, many moons later, I can’t say that I adore chocolate covered cherries… but as I saw that recipe, memories of third grade abounding, I knew I just had to try them. The icing on the cake [or perhaps, the cherry on top?] was that the recipe submitter was none other than one Sarah Y. Before I got married, I was Sarah Y. Now I am Sarah K., but as a tribute to my third grade and maiden self, these Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies earned themselves a spot on my Christmas cookie plate. On their own merit, they have earned themselves a tasty award thanks to the abundance of soft, luscious chocolate coupled with the sweet satisfaction of a maraschino cherry. They are delicious, and just a smidgen different from your average Christmas cookie, so I hope you give them a try and come back the rest of this week for more cookie magic.

Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies [from Sarah Y. via Sam’s Club, also online at BHG]
printable version

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 10-ounce jar undrained maraschino cherries
• 6 ounces dark or semisweet chocolate pieces
• 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

First, in a small bowl, mix together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside. Then, beat together butter and sugar until creamy. Add egg and vanilla, mixing well, then fold in dry ingredients.

Next, drain cherries, reserving juice. Shape dough into one inch balls and press down in the center of each ball with thumb, placing balls on baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Place a cherry in each indentation.

Lastly, heat chocolate and sweetened condensed milk in a small saucepan, stirring constantly until chocolate has melted. Remove from heat and stir in 4 tablespoons reserved cherry juice.

Working quickly, spread about 1 teaspoon frosting over top each cherry. Bake for 10 minutes then cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

Time: 45 minutes.

Yield: about 36.

Notes: The original recipe claimed a yield of 48, but even if I had gotten that, my jar of cherries only contained 30 so I had to replace a few with dried cranberries instead… just as a fair warning!