Chocolate Cherry Walnut Cookies

These Chocolate Cherry Walnut Cookies are full of goodness and gone in a flash!

With school starting back, we took the opportunity to straighten a few areas around the house for a more organized attempt at a new school year. The pantry was one of the areas haunting me. So I did what only any reasonable mother would do, I stuck my daughter on that job. What will I do when she’s grown and gone?

I’ll have a messy pantry until she comes for a visit I suppose.

Anway, after a half hour she resurfaced to inform me that we had not one or two, or even three, four or five, but six bags of dried cherries on hand. What a nice surprise. But what was I thinking? Hopefully now that the pantry is neat (at least for this week) I’ll be able to keep better track of our inventory. But what to do with all those cherries?

A number of things popped in my mind, but cookies ranked at the top of the list. Cherries with what? Chocolate chips of course. And nuts. Walnuts. Definitely.

So I began hunting for a cookie recipe that could handle the heavy load. And, once again, Dorie Greenspan’s Baking: From My Home to Yours didn’t disappoint. Her recipe for Chockablock Cookies nearly jumped off the page as the perfect place for me to start. I made a few changes, exchanging the shortening for more butter, instead of molasses, I used honey, and dropped the coconut altogether.

My kids like basic chocolate chip cookies, and with the addition of the cherries and walnuts, I was already pushing it, so the coconut was out. But doesn’t chocolate chip, walnut, cherry and coconut cookies sound fabulous? Totally trying the coconut with the next batch.

Even though I deviated from Dorie’s original recipe, the cookies turned out just fine. More than fine really. Quite tasty indeed. And they were gone in a flash. These Chocolate Cherry Walnut Cookies are chewy, with a slight crunch, and totally satisfying for that sweet tooth. This would be a fantastic cookie to have for the holidays, but I’m not waiting until then to make another batch.

Thank goodness I have more cherries.

Enjoy!

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Chocolate Cherry Walnut Cookies

Yield: 48

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 18 minutes

Additional Time: 2 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Inspired by and adapted from Dorie Greenspan’s Baking: From My Home to Yours.

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Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup honey
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
• 12 oz. (2 cups) chocolate chips
• 1 cup dried cherries, roughly chopped
• 1 cup walnuts, roughly chopped

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325-degrees F.
2. Line baking sheets with silicon baking mats or parchment paper.
3. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together by whisking.
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer, (or large bowl using hand mixer) using the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on medium until smooth, about 2-3 minutes.
5. Add the honey and beat for 1 minute.
6. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating a full minute after adding each egg.
7. Lower the mixture speed, add the oats and combine well.
8. Add the dry ingredients mixing only until just combined.
9. Gradually add the chocolate chips, cherries and walnuts, turning the mixer on and off quickly to combine. Or stir in the last 3 ingredients with a heavy duty spoon or rubber spatula.
10. Place rounded tablespoonfuls of dough onto the lined baking sheets about 1 1/2-2 inches apart.
11. Bake in 325-degrees F oven for about 15-18 minutes, turning once halfway through baking time.
12. When cookies are done, let cool on baking sheets for a minute or so, then carefully place on cooling racks until you can safely touch them to gobble them down with a nice cold glass of milk.

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