Showing posts with label chocolate cherry cookies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chocolate cherry cookies. Show all posts

Monday, November 30, 2009

Lunch Buddies and Chocolate Cherry Cookies

For years I’ve been so lucky to share my lunch hour with my friend Sue Valenti. Sue is retiring in a few weeks, and I can’t imagine a lunch hour without her. We became fast friends across a cubicle divide about ten years ago, and it soon became evident that this friendship will last long beyond one person’s retirement. She’s a friend for life. Now we can look forward to spending non-work time together, without watching the clock to rush back to our offices. There are good times ahead.

Sue is a very good baker and every year at Christmas time she bakes dozens and dozens of cinnamon rolls as gifts. She’s not limited to cinnamon rolls, though. She has a great recipe for chocolate glazed cookies stuffed with cherries (recipe follows). She’s from Michigan and likes to bake “bars” as they’re called there. She also has a recipe for raisin pie and one for gum-drop bread. Her favorite cake is lemon, and I make one every year for her birthday. Here’s Sue’s recipe for Chocolate Cherry Cookies! They'd make a nice addition to your Christmas Cookie repetoire.

Chocolate Cherry Cookies

1 1/2 C flour
1/2 C unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 C butter
1 C sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 10 oz jars marashino cherries (drained, reserve juice)
1 6 oz package semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2 C sweetened condensed milk

Sift dry ingredients together. Cream butter and sugar well. Add egg and vanilla and blend well. Add dry ingredients and belnd well. Roll mixture into 1-inch balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Press a cherry into the center of each ball. Over medium heat, melt chocolate chips with sweetened condensed milk until melted and well blended. Stir in 4 tsp. cherry juice. If the mixture gets thick, add more cherry juice. Prior to baking, spoon 1 teaspoon of the frosting over each cookie.

These cookies are baked frosted. Bake at 350 for 10 - 12 minutes.