Dark Chocolate & Sour Cherry Cookies

These are insane. I first made them last Christmas – I can’t remember how I stumbled across the recipe, but I’m really glad I did. These cookies are one of the many delicious looking things that Sydney’s Bourke Street Bakery has to offer - a chewy, intensely chocolately cookie studded with tart cherries... decadent yet balanced. Straight up delicious.

This particular batch came about for a few reasons: first, my brother recently came back from Toronto, and he brought me a jar of Soma Dutched cocoa powder (which I wanted to use). Secondly, he and I struck a deal that if I baked something good with that cocoa powder, he would put on my winter tires. Bonus reason: I wanted to include these in a box of goodies for a certain special guy on our second date. The results have been amazing. Having traction on ice is alright, too.

Dark Chocolate & Sour Cherry Cookies

I got this recipe from Almost Bourdain. It has been adapted from the original recipe in Bourke Street Bakery: The UltimateBaking Companion.

235 g good quality dark chocolate (55% cocoa), chopped

150 g all-purpose flour

40 g unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

100 g unsalted butter

240 g soft brown sugar

2 eggs

85 g dried sour cherries

In a metal or glass bowl, melt the chopped chocolate over a small pot of simmering water (make sure the bottom of the bowl doesn't touch the water). Stir gently until all the chocolate is melted, and remove the bowl from heat.

Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt and set aside. In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to cream together the butter and sugar until light and smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each one. Sift in the dry ingredients in three additions, mixing well and scraping down the sides of the bowl each time. Mix in the melted chocolate; finally, use a wooden spoon or spatula to stir in the cherries.

Refrigerate the dough for 10-15 minutes to make it easier to work with. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 325°F/165°C.

Roll the dough into ping-pong sized balls (maybe 1 ½”, 4 cm in diameter) and place on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper (leave lots of space in between – they’ll spread quite a bit). Bake for 15 minutes, until the edges look firm and the tops are cracked. Let them cool completely before chomping into one – those cherries are hot!