Chocolate, particularly dark chocolate, is high in antiinflammatories and antioxidants that may help prevent cancer and cardiovascular disease, and may help maintain cognitive function.
If you make this week’s recipe for Chocolate Chip and Dried Cherry Cookies, you are in for a real treat! It was sent to CCSA as part of a series of emails from our resident chef, Dr. Linda Doody. She began sharing her extensive collection of favorite recipes and testing of new recipes with friends, family, and the CCSA team as a means of maintaining connections during the COVID-19 pandemic and it has since become a company tradition.
“How can you stay worried when someone gives you warm chocolate chip cookies?”
–Faith Hunter
Ingredients
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1¾ teaspoon baking powder
- 1½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1½ cups unsalted butter, room temperature (this is the same as 3 sticks of butter)
- 1¼ cups granulated sugar
- 1¾ cups light brown sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3½ cups bittersweet chocolate chunks (use good quality chocolate, such as Callebaut, Valrhona, or Scharffen Berger. Bittersweet chocolate that is 60–70% cacao bean [butter, powder, or liquor] is recommended [percentage is a measure of quantity, not quality])
- 1¼ cups dried tart cherries
- 4½ teaspoons coarse sea salt (fleur de sel can be found in many grocery stores. Pink Himalayan salt is also a good option)
Instructions
- Using a food processor, grind oats into a fine flour. In a bowl, sift all-purpose flour with baking powder and baking soda. Add oat flour and kosher salt. Using an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars until light in color and texture, about 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in vanilla. Add flour mixture and mix until just combined. Fold in chocolate and cherries. Using an ice cream scoop, portion cookie dough into 18 balls. (*Note:* A #40 scoop [1.6 Tbsp; 1⅝-inch diameter] produces ~36 cookies, which are plenty large.) Place cookies on a parchment-lined tray. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. (*Note:* Chilling the dough improves both the texture—it lets the flour’s gluten relax for a more tender cookie—and the flavor. After three days, however, the baking soda and baking powder lose some of their leavening power.) Preheat oven to 350°F. Place cookies on an ungreased baking sheet 2 inches apart. Press slightly to flatten cookies and sprinkle each with ¼ teaspoon coarse sea salt (or to taste). Bake until cookies are golden brown around the edges, 15–18 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool.
Notes
These awesome cookies can be found at the Metropolitan Bakery in Philadelphia. The bakery has a stand at the Reading Terminal, a historic indoor public market that opened in 1892; it is conveniently located across the street from the Convention Center. This recipe is from the owner, James Barrett.
The cookies have a crunchy crust, but a chewy interior; the richness of the chocolate is tempered by the sourness of the cherries. The salt serves to round out the sweetness and intensify the butter flavor.