Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies (ATK)

• servings: 2 1/2 dozen

Ingredients

Cookies

1 1/2 cups (7½ ounces/213 grams) all- purpose flour

1/2 cup (1½ ounces/43 grams) Dutch- processed cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), softened

1 cup (7 ounces/198 grams) sugar

1 large egg

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Chocolate-Cherry Topping

1 cup (6 ounces/170 grams) semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk

2 (12 ounces/340 grams) jars Maraschino cherries, drained and stemmed

2 tablespoons juice reserved

Directions

1. For the cookies: Whisk flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in bowl; set aside. With electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in egg and vanilla until incorporated. Reduce speed to low, add flour mixture, and mix until dough forms, about 1 minute.

2. For the chocolate-cherry topping: Heat chocolate and milk in saucepan over low heat until chocolate is melted, about 5 minutes (mixture should have consistency of mayonnaise). Off heat, stir in reserved cherry juice. Cover and keep warm.

3. To finish: Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 350 degrees. Roll dough into 1-inch balls and place 2 inches apart on 2 rimmed baking sheets. Using thumb, make indentation in center of each cookie. Place 1 cherry in center of each cookie, then top with 1 teaspoon warm chocolate mixture. Bake until cookies are just set, 10 to 12 minutes, switching and rotating sheets halfway through baking. Transfer cookies to wire rack and cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough. (Cookies can be stored in airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.)

Notes

Why This Recipe Works

This Chocolate-Covered Cherry Cookie recipe is a perfect addition to any holiday dessert table. We were careful not to overbake the Chocolate-Covered Cherry Cookies; they were soft when they came out of the oven and remained chewy as they cooled. We also found that Dutch-processed cocoa powder lent our recipe a richer chocolate flavor than regular cocoa powder.

DECEMBER/JANUARY 2008 COOK'S COUNTRY in 2007 annual