Low(er)-fat, lower-sugar chocolate chip cookies? They look yummy, right? I SWEAR they taste at least as good as they look. But it’s honestly true, they have proportionally half the butter of any other chocolate cookie recipe I’ve ever tried. At first I thought I read the recipe wrong, so I researched. This recipe comes from Katie Lee Joel’s kitchen, and as she explains it, the lower fat and sugar content gives the cookies a smoother texture. Who knew!? The dark chocolate and cherries bring depth of flavor and contrast for your palate. A very sophisticated, adult chocolate chip cookie. For an extra layer of yum, pecans are a worthy addition. I’m really in love with these!
Dark Chocolate Chunk and Dried Cherry Cookies
yields about 4 dozen cookies (Calorie estimate: 110/cookie OR 95/cookie without nuts)
2 1/4 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
8 ounces dark chocolate, coarsely chopped (be sure to use a high-quality chocolate with more than 60% cacao)
1 cup dried cherries (about 6 ounces), coarsely chopped
1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped (optional)
Preheat the oven to 375º F.
Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt together into a bowl.
In the bowl of an electric mixer (or in a bowl using a handmixer), beat the butter with the sugars until light and fluffy, about three minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until incorporated. Beat in the vanilla. On low speed, add the flour mixture. With a wooden spoon, fold in the chocolate, cherries and pecans (if you’re using them).
Scoop by heaping tablespoonful onto two nonstick or greased cookie sheets. Bake until golden and chewy, about 12 minutes, rotating the sheets after six minutes. Transfer the cookies to a rack to cool and repeat the process with the remaining dough.
