Black Forest Cookies

I've been on a bit of a chocolate kick lately, but I think I've met my match.  Meet the Black Forest cookie:

These pictures just don't do this cookie justice.  Intensely chocolate with the added kick of cherry.  Oh, and I mean intensely chocolate.  They taste like chocolate dipped cherries.  Dipped in dark, rich chocolate.  Definitely for the sophisticated pallet - a kid would spit these out.  But that just means more for us, right?  Now, it could be that I used unsweetened chocolate instead of bittersweet, but I'm a deep, dark, bitter chocolate-loving girl.

Nice and soft too, with giant chucks of sweet chocolate and tart cherries.  These are for people who love lots of stuff in their cookies, there was barely enough dough to hold them all together.

I picked this recipe up from Martha Stewart, who featured it in their Everyday Food Magazine.

Recipe (copied from the website)

1 cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

8 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup packed dark-brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 package (about 12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chunks

1 1/2 cups dried cherries

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line three baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder; and salt; set aside.

2.  Place chopped chocolate and butter in a large heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water; stir until melted and smooth. Remove from heat; whisk in sugars, then eggs, until smooth.

3.  Whisk in dry ingredients just until combined (do not overmix). Fold in chocolate chunks and dried cherries; press plastic wrap directly onto surface of dough, and refrigerate until firm, 30 to 45 minutes.

4.  Drop mounds of dough (equal to 2 level tablespoons) about 2 inches apart onto prepared sheets. Bake just until edges are firm (but not darkening), 11 to 13 minutes. Cool on baking sheets 1 to 2 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

My only advice would be to scoop these using a cooke dough scoop, then ball them with your hands.  They don't spread much, so if they're uneven when you put them on the cookie sheet, they'll stay that way.

Enjoy!

Renee