Another Fall Favorite

Fall is definitely my most favorite time of year for knitting. It signals the need for warm woolly knits before Winter finally arrives. In the past years, I would start knitting in a frenzy when the first sign of cold hits. Summers use to slow my knitting to a halt. These days, I am knitting all year round, so the mad dash to start knitting every pattern in sight is curbed.

My other passion is baking. Fall is when I love to fire up the oven because certain Summer months are just too hot to bake. There is never a lack of baked goods in my kitchen during the Fall and Winter months.

Next week, Thanksgiving will be the start of my baking season. I want to share an amazing cookie recipe with all of you. It comes from the book, Baked: New Frontiers in Baking. The Black Forest Chocolate Cookies are a delicious combination of chocolate and cherries. Everyone I've shared it with has loved them. My friend's husband, who does not like cherries, fell instantly in love with this cookie after the first bite. That's saying a lot from a humble little cookie.

Black Forest Chocolate Cookies
Baked: New Frontiers in Baking

Yield 24 Cookies

Ingredients:
3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
16 oz. dark chocolate (60-72% cacao), coarsely chopped
10 T. unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
6 large eggs
1 1/4 c. granulated sugar
1 c. firmly packed light brown sugar
1 T. pure vanilla extract
1 c. (6 oz.) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 c. (6 oz.) white chocolate chips
1 c. (6 oz.) dried cherries

Directions:
Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together into a medium bowl and set aside.

In a large nonreactive metal bowl, combine the dark chocolate and butter. Set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and cook, stirring with a rubber spatula, until the chocolate and butter are completely melted and the mixture is smooth. Set aside to cool.

In the bowl of an electric mixture fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the eggs and sugars on high speed until the mixture is pale and thick, about 5 minutes.

Add the cooled chocolate mixture and the vanilla and beat until just combined. Scrape down the bowl and beat again for 10 seconds.

Add the flour mixture and mix on low until just combined, about 10 seconds. Do not over mix.

Using a spatula or wooden spoon, fold in the chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, and dried cherries. The dough will look very loose, but it will harden in the refrigerator. Refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Drop the dough by rounded tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheets, about 1 inch apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through the baking time, until the tops of the cookies are set and begin to show a few cracks. remove from the oven and let cool slightly before removing from the pans and serving.

The cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.