I love chocolate and cherries together. So, it was not a surprise that I created a cookie with both ingredients. I found chunky, semi-sweet Toll House pieces a couple of years ago, but they have not been on the grocery store shelf for quite a while in my area.
Of course, this means improvising. I have wanted to swap out chips for the chocolate square for a while, so this was my chance to see how they stacked up to what I usually use.
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Ingredients for Cherry and Chocolate Cookies
- Butter unsalted
- Dark brown sugar
- Sugar white
- Egg
- Vanilla extract
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Corn starch
- Kosher Salt
- Dried regular cherries
- Semi-sweet chocolate baking bar
- Pecans chopped
Making the Chocolate Cherry Pecan Cookies
These homemade chunky chocolate with cherry and pecan cookies are not hard to make, but there is a little prep work before you start.
Prepping
Weigh or measure the white and dark brown sugars into a bowl and set it aside. In another bowl, weigh or measure the flour, baking powder, cornstarch, and salt, whisking to blend.
You can either purchase the pecans already chopped or chop them yourself. Pecans are soft nuts, so it takes no time at all to chop them.
Now, I do a rough chop on the chocolate squares by Ghirardelli. My grocery store had them, but you can also find Ghirardelli Semi-Sweet Chocolate at Walmart.
Mixing
This part takes no time at all.
I start by creaming the butter to prepare it for adding the sugars. I do this on a medium mixer speed for 2 minutes.
Add the white and dark brown sugars to the creamed butter and continue on a medium mixer speed for 2 to 3 minutes.
Next, add the egg and the vanilla extract and incorporate. Scrape down the sides and turn the mixer to a slow speed. Slowly add the flour, about a quarter at a time. You can get all the flour mixture incorporated in about a minute.
At this point, I scrape down the sides and add the dried cherries, pecans, and chocolate. The dough will be thick, and you will be lucky to be able to mix for 10 seconds. You can always use a spatula to even everything out if you think it is needed.
Ready to start baking!
Baking
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C or 180°C) and line 2 sheet pans with parchment-paper.
I use a medium cookie scooper to scoop 12 mounds onto the prepared sheet pan. I then put the pan into the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes. This helps to firm up the butter before it bakes. If you don't have room in your fridge for the whole pan, place the scoops on a parchment-lined plate and chill them that way. You can then transfer the cookie mounds to the sheet pan.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. I leave them on the sheet pan for a minute before moving them to a cooling rack.
Enjoy!
FAQ's
Almonds and walnuts go well with the chocolate and the dried cherries.
I store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.
I thought about adding milk chocolate or white chips at one time but decided on the rough chop semi-sweet chocolate square. I would use what you have on hand or your favorite flavor of chocolate. You can make these your cookies!
No, you can certainly use a spoon and do a drop cookie. The only reason I do not do this is I like uniform cookies, which helps me with the baking time if they are all the same size.
Recipe
Chunky Chocolate with Cherry and Pecan Cookies
Barbara HallWould you like to save this recipe?
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Ingredients
- 1 cup (227 g) Butter unsalted room temperature
- ¾ cup (165 g) Dark brown sugar
- ¼ cup (50 g) Sugar white
- 1 (1) Egg
- 2 teaspoon (2 teaspoon) Vanilla extract
- 2 cups (250 g) All-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) Baking powder
- 2 teaspoon (2 teaspoon) Corn starch
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) Kosher Salt
- ¾ cup (103.5 g) Dried Regular Cherries
- 4 ounces (135 g) Semi-sweet chocolate baking bar
- ½ cup (49.5 g) Pecans chopped
Instructions
- Weigh or measure the dark brown and white sugar into a bowl and set aside. In another bowl, weigh or measure the flour, baking powder, salt, and cornstarch, and run a whisk through to blend.
- With a stand or handheld mixer, I cream the butter for a minute before adding the sugars. Start on low speed, then increase until you reach a medium speed. Continue at medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes. Stop and scrape down the sides, and add the vanilla extract. Crack the egg into a small bowl to ensure no eggshells, then add the egg to the mixing bowl. Blend on medium speed until the egg is incorporated.
- Turn the mixer to a low speed and slowly add the flour mixture. After adding the flour, I stopped the mixer and scraped down the sides and across the bottom. Turn the mixer on for another 5 seconds to incorporate the last flour mixture into the cookie dough. Stop and add the chunky chocolate pieces, dried cherries, and pecans, and turn the mixer on for a few seconds. The batter is thick, so you may have to mix a little by hand.
- Preheat over to 350°F (175°C or 180°C) and line 2 cookie sheet pans with parchment paper. To create uniform-size cookies, I use a medium cookie scooper. I got 12 cookie mounds to a pan. You can always make these a drop cookie using a spoonful of cookie dough. I stick the whole cookie sheet pan with the unbaked cookies on it into the refrigerator for 10 to 15 minutes before popping them into the oven.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, but start checking after 10 minutes. You do not want to see dark brown around the bottom edges of the cookie. They should be light to medium brown on the bottom, mainly due to the dark brown sugar. After pulling the cookies out of the oven, I leave them on the sheet pan for a minute before moving them to a cooling rack. They firm up as they cool.
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NUTRITION DISCLAIMER
I am not a certified Dietitian or Nutritionist. The nutrition amounts given below are provided through a program and are only a guideline.
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