Milk Chocolate Cherry Cookies

John and I recently returned from an amazing vacation. One of the most exciting parts was that the hotel put out platters of fresh cookies daily around 4 o'clock!! I would rush into the lobby, look around frantically, and be incredibly sad if they were all gone by the time I got there. However, the few times I was lucky enough to catch the cookies I chose an amazing cherry chocolate chip cookie. They were so good and such an interesting flavor combination. The cookies were loaded with chips and cherries- every bite having some of each.

When I came home I knew I wanted to make them so I used a new cookie recipe and just tossed in some dried cherries. I used milk chocolate instead of semi-sweet, but you could use either. This was also my first time making chocolate chip cookies with melted butter- it was interesting. The cookies were beautiful- large, firm, and soft in the middle. A real winner. I didn't use enough fruit and chocolate, but I am modifying the recipe below so that if you make it there will be enough. Definitely worth a try if you want a new cookie recipe!

Source: Inspired by the cookies from The Bluenose Inn in Bar Harbor, cookie base recipe from Eat, Live, Run

Ingredients:
1 3/4 c all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

14 tbsp unsalted butter (1 3/4 sticks)

1/2 c white sugar

3/4 c packed brown sugar

1 tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

1 1/4 c milk chocolate chips

1/2 cup dried cherries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 and line two large baking sheets with parchment or silicone baking mats. Sift or whisk together the flour and baking soda in a medium bowl.

Put 10 tbsp of the butter in a medium skillet set over medium high heat. Allow the butter to melt for 2 minutes and begin to swirl it around the pan, allowing it to brown. Keep the butter moving so it doesn’t burn. Browning should take about 3 minutes and you’ll know it’s done when it smells nutty and it has a dark golden brown color. Remove the pan from the heat and use a heatsafe spatula to transfer the butter to a large, heatsafe mixing bowl. Add the remaining 4 tbsp of cold butter to the melted butter, and stir gently until it is melted.

Add the white sugar, brown sugar, vanilla and salt to the butter and whisk the ingredients together. Add the egg and egg yolk and whisk again until mixture is smooth, 30 seconds. Allow the batter to rest for 3 minutes, then whisk for 30 seconds more. Do this two more times; the end result should be thick and shiny.

Add the flour mixture and stir until just combined, about 1 minute. Gently stir in chocolate chips and cherries. The batter will be soft.

Spoon 1 tablespoon of batter at a time onto a cookie sheet. Place cookies 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets and bake one tray at a time, 10 to 14 minutes, on the middle rack of your oven. Rotate baking sheet after 5 minutes and check the cookies at 10; you want them to be golden brown and set around the edges, but puffy in the middle. (My oven yielded perfect cookies at 12 minutes.)

Allow to cool on the pan for 1 to 2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.