CHERRY CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

 These cookies looked so good when Friend Sharon brought them to church for the Cafe Treats, but I didn't get to try one. I was going to wait until after church when I cleaned up, but they were all gone. SOOOOO....I had to make some of my own. Oh My Gosh!!!They were so good. I shared some with my Blankets of Hope friends but the rest we have been enjoying them at home. Earlier Wayne told me I needed to make some more and I informed him I had frozen some so he didn't have to worry. 

I am asking that everyone furnish me with their recipes so I can share them here and also so I have a tried and proven recipe I can make. Since I was making Sharon's cookies mainly for us, I used sugar substitutes for the sugar so we wouldn't have the sugar. 

As I said I did end up taking two for everyone at Blankets of Hope so I shared some of the delicious treat with others. I froze about a dozen of them so we could enjoy some of the rest later. 

PRINT recipe.

CHERRY CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

2-2/3    cups flour

1          teaspoon baking soda

1          cup (2 sticks) salted sweet cream butter, softened (I used unsalted butter)

2/3       cup light brown sugar, packed (I used truvia brown sugar complete)

1/2      sugar (I used stevia)

1         large egg, room temperature

1         teaspoon vanilla

1/4      teaspoon vanilla

2         tablespoons reserved cherry juice

2-3      drops pink food coloring

1         cup, drained and chopped maraschino cherries (I used a 10 - oz jar of cherries.)

2         cups semisweet chocolate chips (I used a 10 - oz bag of dark cacao chips.)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set it aside. (I used a silicone mat)

Mix together the flour and baking soda in a medium sized bowl with a whisk. Set aside.

Using a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter for 1 minute,

until smooth. Increase the speed of the mixer to medium-high speed and continue to beat the butter for 1 to 1-1/2 minutes, until smooth. (Don't forget to scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula.)

Add the sugars and beat for another 1-1/2 minutes until

light and fluffy.

Add the eggs, vanilla, almond flavoring, and cherry juice.

Mix just until well combined. (Mixture will not be smooth.)

Lower the mixer to low and add the flour mixture. Mix just until incorporated.

Don't have to worry about getting it all incorporated. The next thing you do is add the food coloring which is hard to get smoothly blended.

Stir in the chocolate chips. One cup of chips might be enough. They do overpower the cherry taste.

Fold in the chopped cherries. This isn't easy to do.

I used my wooden spoon.

Using a tablespoon cookie scoop,

place the cookie dough about 2 inches apart on the cookie sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 inches, until the edges are just golden.

Allow the cookies to cool 3 to 4 minutes on the cookie sheet before

removing them to cool on a wire rack.

Allow to cool completely. Store in an air-tight container.