These dark chocolate cherry cookies are the perfect balance of sweet and chocolaty, slightly tart, and salty, which makes for a wonderfully satisfying dessert or mid-day treat. The cookies have a slight chew on the outside and are soft in the middle, with chunks of gooey dark chocolate, extra chew from the dried cherries, and a slightly salty finish from the flaky sea salt. I am always a proponent of eating more chocolate and this double chocolate chunk cookie most certainly delivers!
As a base for this recipe, I started with one of my favorite chocolate chip cookies from Kristin Johns and adapted it to create a double chocolate chunk cookie base. The texture of these cookies is an absolute dream and I was happy to see that even with my adaptations, that perfect texture remained intact. To amp up the chocolate flavor in the recipe, I added cocoa powder directly to the melted butter to let it bloom for a few minutes. Blooming essentially means dissolving the cocoa powder in a hot liquid, which helps release the flavor particles in the cocoa. I also added two teaspoons of brewed espresso to help highlight the chocolate flavor.
The other key to this recipe, which is an integral part of the original chocolate chip cookie recipe, is to use chocolate chunks rather than chocolate chips. I cannot implore you enough to buy a bar of dark chocolate and cut it up into chunks–the tiny scraps and shavings melt seamlessly into the cookies and the chunks create perfect pockets of gooey chocolate that take this cookie to the next level. Reserving one larger chocolate chunk and pressing it into each dough ball before baking ensures that you have a beautifully gooey and chocolaty center. I recommend using a good quality chocolate like Callebaut or Scharffen Berger–you can also buy a bar of Lindt and chop it up if you don’t have the others on hand.
These cookies are definitely dreamy and my hope is that when you eat one, for a split second, any troubles or worries will melt away and you might just find yourself cracking a smile.
Dark chocolate cherry cookies
Course: Cookies and barsDifficulty: Quick bake24
cookies20
minutes8
minutesThese dark chocolate cherry cookies have a slight chew on the outside, with chunks of gooey dark chocolate in the center, bites of tart dried cherries, and a slightly salty finish from the flaky sea salt. They are the perfect balance of sweet, tart, and salty and have a rich chocolate flavor. I like my cookies relatively small but feel free to make these into larger cookies–you’ll just need to increase the baking time and watch them closely.
Ingredients
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted
1 1/3 cup (166g) all-purpose flour
1/3 cup (28g) unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
3/4 cup (160g) light brown sugar
1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
1 egg, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
2 tsp brewed espresso or coffee
4.5 oz (128g) bittersweet chocolate + additional large chunks set aside
1/2 cup dried cherries
Flaky sea salt for garnish
Instructions
- Chop the chocolate into small chunks. Remove some of the slightly larger chunks and set those aside–those will be pressed into the center of the cookies before baking.
- In a small saucepan or in the microwave, melt the butter and pour into a large mixing bowl. Add the cocoa powder and stir until dissolved. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until combined.
- In the bowl with the butter and cocoa powder, beat in the granulated sugar and brown sugar with a mixer until well combined and slightly fluffy in texture. Add the egg and beat until just combined. Then beat in the vanilla and coffee.
- Pour the dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet ingredients and using a large spoon or spatula, stir just until there are no longer visible white patches of flour. Add in the chopped chocolate (minus some of the large chunks set aside) and dried cherries. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rest in the fridge at least 30 minutes–it’s fine to leave the dough for a few hours or overnight. The dough should be cold when it comes out the fridge but still malleable–if it’s too hard, let rest at room temperature for 10-15 minutes until it can be scooped.
- Preheat the oven to 365F. Using a tablespoon, scoop up spoonfuls of dough and use your hands to gently help press together and shape into balls of dough that are about 1-inch in diameter. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough, ensuring that the cookies are spaced about 2 inches apart–I fit 12 per baking sheet. Using your reserved chocolate chunks, gently press one piece onto the center of each cookie–it will still be sticking out, which is fine. Bake for about 8-11 minutes or until the edges appear set but the center is still a little soft. Do not overbake. Immediately after taking them out of the oven, sprinkle each cookie with flaky sea salt. Let cool for about 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to one week.
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