Kat’s Cherry Chocolate Chip Shortbread
Kat’s Cherry Chocolate Chip Shortbread
These cookies were inspired by my friend, Kat. We had been talking about the cookies I was making for Christmas. She wanted to know if I made a cherry chocolate chip cookie. I do, but it turned out, not the kind of cookie Kat was thinking about. I had been thinking of my traditional chocolate chip cookie, with dried cherries added to the dough. Kat was thinking of a shortbread type cookie. Perhaps made with maraschino cherries, and the cookie had to be flat. She was pretty specific. The cookie itself was pink. I told her I could figure something out. I used canned tart cherries, rather than maraschino cherries. I had them already and I like them a lot. I measured as I went along, and baked some at different temps and times until I came out with the right formula. They are a pretty pale pink color, but you could add a few drops of food coloring, if you want a pinker cookie. In the end, the cookies came out the way I had hoped. I would most definitely make them again. Here is the recipe. Thanks, Kat, for the inspiration.
Kat’s Cherry Chocolate Chip Shortbread
1 c. butter, softened
1½ c. sugar
1 can (15 oz.) tart cherries (packed in water) drained well
½ c. cornstarch
3 c. flour
12 oz. dark chocolate chips
Extra sugar for tops of cookies
Cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in cherries. Add cornstarch and flour and mix until smooth. Stir in chips. Dough will be a little sticky. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Use a cookie scoop to make 1-inch balls of dough. Did I mention the dough is sticky? Think of them as 1-inch blobs of dough, rather than balls. Place on ungreased baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Use a glass with the bottom dipped in sugar to flatten the cookies. They don’t spread. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden on the bottom. Let cool on baking sheet a couple of minutes before moving to a cooling rack. Makes about 7-8 dozen cookies.
Note: The color on these cookies is a pretty pale shade of pink. If you like, you can add a few drops of pink or red food coloring.
These are the cherries I used
