I have a bit of a sweet tooth.
It hasn’t always been that way. My craving for confections escalated when I became sober just over two years ago. I used to always reach for a salty bag of chips for a snack. Now I’m often craving some ice cream. Or some cookies. Or some chocolate covered pretzels to get a sweet and salty fix at the same time.
In addition to being two years sober, I have recently passed my one year anniversary of working as a Chef Instructor at The Chopping Block. It has been a great experience teaching the fine folks of Chicago in the lovely Lincoln Square neighborhood.
One of the perks of working at The Chopping Block is often walking in to find some sweet treats to snack on when arriving at work. Those sweets are almost always provided by my buddy, and coworker, Cathy. Cathy will bring in different flavors of cupcakes. She will supply the staff with delicious and creative cookies. One day I gifted her a pint of my fig and bacon jam and she made us all some sweet and savory snacks to share.
It is Cathy’s birthday week, and I thought that I would return the favor. She, like myself, is a chocolate lover. And I really enjoy making cookies. It’s time to whip up a batch of something tasty.
When I am making a batch of cookies, sometimes I will follow a recipe that is tried and true. Other times I will research other’s recipes for inspiration and develop my own ideas. I know that I want chocolate. I also happen to have a big bag of cherries in the refrigerator. There are few flavor combinations that I enjoy more than chocolate and cherries. Today I am going to test a recipe of double chocolate cookies studded with fresh cherry chunks.
Cathy’s Chocolate Cherry Chunk Cookies
Yield: 100 mini cookies
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 11 minutes
Inactive time: 30 minutes
Total time: 41 minutes
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cups cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks butter, soft
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar (I used dark)
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups fresh cherries, chopped and patted dry
2 cups chocolate, chopped
Flaky salt
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Wash about 4 cups of fresh cherries. Remove the stems and pits, then chop into small chunks. Finally pat them dry thoroughly with paper towels. (this should yield two cups of chopped cherries). Also chop your chocolate into small chunks. (I used a combination of a dark chocolate bar and semi-sweet chips.)
3. In a bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugars. (You could alternatively use a hand mixer.)
5. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until well combined.
6. On low speed, gradually mix in the dry ingredients until just incorporated.
7. With a rubber spatula, fold in the chopped chocolate and cherries.
8. Using a #100 scoop (about 1 ½-2 teaspoons), on a silicon mat or parchment lined sheet tray, place scoops about 1 ½ inches apart.
9. Bake the small cookie dough scoops for about 11 minutes, or until the edges are set. Be careful not to overcook so the cookies remain soft and chewy.
10. Remove from the oven and cool on the tray for about five minutes. Then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
I will be the first to admit that these are not the most attractive cookies on their own. But my intention all along was to make these monotone brown cookies into beautiful sandwiches. That is why I made them miniature. The name has changed to Cathy’s Chocolate Cherry Chunk Cookie Sandwiches.
Now for the filling.
First, I made a jam with my remaining cherries. It is a simple recipe of just cherries, sugar, and a little lemon juice. I reduced it to a fairly thick consistency and pureed it until mostly smooth. The Chopping Block features the same recipe in the Pancakes Around the World class.
I also made an American-style buttercream. This is also a simple mixture of butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and a touch of heavy cream. This style of buttercream is best to replicate that classic sandwich cookie filling.
The tart cherry jam provides a nice acidity to balance the richness of the cookies. The buttercream gives the sandwich cookie a classic look and sweetness to compliment the slightly salty cookie. These cookie sandwiches turned out better than I anticipated. I am looking forward to sharing them with my friends and fellow coworkers.
It feels good to give. You can get all of your friends and family cooking together with a gift card for a class at The Chopping Block.
