Bake, Run, Live

I’ve been on a little sweet cherry baking spree!

I saw them on sale and I had Nick pick me up 2 pounds. Wow- 2 pounds goes a long way (at least, it does when you’re not making a pie!)!!

The 1st pound went into Cherry Walnut Bread and Cherry Chocolate Ice Cream. The 2nd pound, I froze some of them and the rest went into these cookies. They have the same flavor profile as the ice cream- I really like cherry and chocolate together!

The cherries really keep these cookies soft, so make sure the cookies are completely cooled before trying to stack them or store them!

Cherry Chocolate Cookies
Makes 2 1/2 dozen
Prep time: 30 minutes     Bake time: 13-14 minutes

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 cups flour
1 1/2 cups finely chopped, pitted, sweet cherries
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Mix in the eggs and vanilla extract. Stir in the salt and baking soda. Mix in the flour- the dough might seem a little thick, but will loosen up a little once the cherries have been added. Stir in the cherries and the chocolate chips, mixing well.

Using a large ice cream scoop, scoop the dough onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Note: I bake only 1 cookie on the 1st cookie sheet. This helps me to know how long I want to bake them and also lets me know if the cookies will spread too much. I would recommend doing this for this recipe, as your cherries could give off a lot of juice and you might decide you want to add a little more flour (or to chill the dough first).
Bake the cookies in a preheated oven for 13-14 minutes or until lightly golden and the cookies are set. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, move the cookies onto cooling racks and let cool completely. Enjoy!

Made with love, not calories!

I’m linked to:
Not Just a Housewife, Nutmeg Place, Cornerstone Confessions, Debbie Does Creations, Nap Time Creations