These festive cookies are great for every holiday or everyday. This stands true for Christmas through to Valentine’s day. I love the different textures from the dried cherries and pecans coupled with the pure intensity of the chocolate from the cocoa powder ,if that is not enough the recipe calls for chocolate chunks . Chocolate purists can use any type of chocolate ,but my tastes go towards Semi sweet.
Fine Cooking
60 to 65 cookies
Photograph by Rahul Mahtani
10 oz (2 1/4 cups) all purpose flour
3 1/2 oz (1 cup plus 2 tbs) unsweetened natural cocoa powder
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
pinch salt
pinch baking powder
10 1/2 oz (1 cup plus 5 tbs ) room temperature unsalted butter
4 1/2 tbs whole milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup toasted and coarsely chopped pecans
1 1/2 cups bittersweet or semi sweet chocolate chips or chunks
1 1/2 cups dried tart cherries , coarsely chopped
Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat to 350*F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment.
In a food processor combine flour ,cocoa ,sugar, salt and baking soda. Pulse several times to mix throughly. Cut butter into about about 12 chunks and add them to the bowl. Pulse several times. Combine the milk and vanilla in a small cup. With the processor running add the milk mixture and continue to process until the dough clumps around the blade.
Remove to a mixing bowl and add in the pecans ,chocolate and dried cherries . Gently fold these into the dough.
Drop ,more or less level tablespoons onto the parchment 2 inches apart. (I USE THE BACK OF A DRINKING GLASS <DIPPED IN SUGAR TO GENTLY FLATTEN THE COOKIE)
Bake ,rotating the sheet half way through, until the surface looks dry and set ,about 12 minutes.
Slide cookies on to a wire rack and allow them to cool completely before storing in an air tight container.
I freeze my cookies in single layers seperated by wax paper.
Filed under: Desert, Eggless | Tagged: Alice Medrich, Chocolate chunk cookies with dried cherries and pecans, Eggless, Fine cooking | 1 Comment »
