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Friday, September 09, 2011

Recipe: Dark chocolate and sour cherry cookies



You can't beat a homemade cookie. There's a purity of sweetness that comes with baking from scratch, although others might say it's the unmistakable addition of love.

These dark chocolate and sour cherry cookies aren't difficult to make, but they do involve pre-planning and patience, as the batter must be chilled before and after rolling them into balls for baking. These are based on a Bourke Street Bakery recipe, so you know they'll be rich and delicious.

I'm renowned for always baking double batches, usually driven by greed. In this case, I'm glad I did. These were a huge hit with everyone, and disappeared faster than I ever imagined among family, friends and workmates.

You can under-bake these for a soft and chewy cookie, or keep them in the oven longer for a crisper biscuit. I reckon you could also slap them around a generous wad of vanilla bean or chocolate ice cream for a decadent ice cream sandwich.




Dark chocolate and sour cherry cookies
Adapted from a recipe by Bourke Street Bakery

100g unsalted butter
200g soft brown sugar
2 eggs
150g (1 cup) plain flour
60g (1/2 cup) cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
1 teaspoon salt
200g dark chocolate
120g dried sour cherries

  1. Preheat the oven to 170C (160C for fan-forced)
  2. Cream the butter and sugar together using an electric mixer until smooth and well combined. Beat in the eggs one at a time.
  3. Combine the flour, cocoa powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt in a bowl and then add to the butter mixture in three stages, beating well between each addition.
  4. Break the chocolate into pieces and melt either in a double boiler or in the microwave. If using a microwave, heat on high in 30 seconds bursts, stirring with a spoon between each burst to distribute the heat in the chocolate.
  5. Add the melted chocolate to the butter and flour mixture. Mix well and then add the sour cherries.
  6. Chill the cookie dough for about 30 minutes or until the mixture is quite firm. Use a teaspoon to create truffle-sized balls of dough, rolling quickly between your hands so the ball is smooth and compact. Try and make sure there is at least one sour cherry in each ball.
  7. Place the balls on a lined baking tray, making sure there is at least 3cm between each one, as the cookies will spread as they baked.
  8. Chill each tray for about 30 minutes before baking.
  9. Bake for 15 minutes for chewy cookies, or 20 minutes for crunchy ones. For extra soft cookies, remove the tray just before the cookies start to crack. The cookies will collapse and crack as they cool.

FREEBIE FRIDAY WINNERS

Congratulations to Jackie, Martyna, EJ, JPana and Deborah M who have each won a copy of the 2012 Eating and Drinking Sydney guide. Thank you everyone for all your entries and cheap eat favourites - you can check them out here.


Related Grab Your Fork posts:
Chocolate and ginger biscotti
Chocolate bacon cupcakes
Chocolate crackles
Chocolate truffle mud cake
16 comments - Add some comment love

posted by Helen (Grab Your Fork) on 9/09/2011 01:36:00 am


16 Comments:

  • At 9/09/2011 1:57 am, Anonymous K | Citrus and Candy said…

    I could definitely do with a double batch of these right now; the perfect 2am snack with a glass of milk :)

     
  • At 9/09/2011 8:32 am, Anonymous Martyna@WholesomeCook said…

    Hi Helen, thanks for the book and also for posting your giveaway winners within such a great cookie recipe!
    The kids love Brasserie Bread's sour cherry loaf, I might whip up a batch of these cookies for them for the weekend. :-D

     
  • At 9/09/2011 8:45 am, Anonymous Apple @Polkadotsandchopsticks said…

    Soft chewy homemade cookies are the best. I think I should whip up a batch of these for the weekend!

     
  • At 9/09/2011 9:24 am, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Maybe next time you can make a triple batch and have a giveaway? :)

     
  • At 9/09/2011 9:35 am, Anonymous rockahenry said…

    oooh i can smell it coming from the screen.... derricious.

     
  • At 9/09/2011 9:58 am, Blogger Peter G | Souvlaki For The Soul said…

    Oooh! Agreed! A home made cookie is just the best! And I'm always driven by greed!

     
  • At 9/09/2011 9:59 am, Anonymous Nic@diningwithastud said…

    Mmmmmm cooookies!!! Im not a massice fan of cherry but Id give these a red hot go :)

     
  • At 9/09/2011 10:08 am, Anonymous Sara - Belly Rumbles said…

    The smell of cookies cooking alone makes it worth your while making them from scratch. The cookies I make are magical ones, they seem to just vanish once baked. Maybe a double batch would ensure they stick around a bit longer.

     
  • At 9/09/2011 10:46 am, Blogger Janine said…

    boohoo i can't get sour cherries where I'm at but i had the joy of tasting these when I was in Australia. delicious!! And yes, I'm always driven by greed when I'm baking ;p I even sneak a few bites of the dough while I'm at it!

     
  • At 9/09/2011 11:01 am, Anonymous chopinandmysaucepan said…

    I'm no baker so if I did bake, it will be triple batches perhaps..

     
  • At 9/09/2011 3:16 pm, Anonymous Hannah said…

    Helen! I just bought a bag of dried sour cherries from Costco! You are awesome.

     
  • At 9/10/2011 4:06 pm, Blogger Rita (mademoiselle délicieuse) said…

    Homemade cookies are the best! Especially when I find all store-bought ones to be just that little too dry and crispy. Plus making your own ice-cream sandwiches are so much fun.

     
  • At 9/11/2011 12:37 am, Anonymous JasmyneTea said…

    Oh, dark chocolate and sour cherry are one of my many favourite flavour combos - and they look absolutely edible. Will definitely give these a crack!

     
  • At 9/11/2011 1:21 pm, Anonymous Arwen from Hoglet K said…

    Chocolate and sour cherries is such a beautiful combination. The chewy cookies sound beautiful!

     
  • At 9/19/2011 10:49 am, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    hi there! I've been a silent reader for over a year. I tried this cookies recipe last nite and woah! I was blown over with the dark choc's taste. It feeling like bite to a edges of brownies, I was thinking to add walnut next time. My pre-historic miniature oven can only takes 6 biscuits to bake each time, thank goodness it's only 15 mins each time T.T I manage to make 26 biscuits ^^

    thanks for sharing this recipe!

     
  • At 9/26/2011 1:52 pm, Anonymous Tabitha said…

    Got to get a glass of milk quick and try to make some of these. Thanks for the recipe.

     

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