Recipe time!

Tastier than hammer time (whatever that even means). I'll bet you've been waiting eagerly for the first recipe of the year.  Or, not.

I tried a new recipe. I'd gotten it off of MarthaStewart.com almost exactly 4 years ago and had never made it. Why not? Well, because we rarely have dried cherries in the house. But, our wonderful friends, Carol and David, gave us a gift box of dried fruits from Bella Viva Orchards and I finally had dried cherries to bake with.

It turned out dense but super chocolatey and quite tasty.

Black Forest Cookies
adapted from Martha Stewart online
makes 36

1 C AP flour, spooned and leveled
2 T unsweetened cocoa powder
1 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
8 oz semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped (I used chocolate chips)
1/2 C unsalted utter, cut into small pieces
1/2 C granulated sugar (I used 1/4 C)
1/4 C dark-brown sugar (I usually whatever brown sugar I have on hand that's opened)
2 large eggs
1 pkg (12 oz) semisweet chocolate chunks (I used cappuccino chips)
1 1/2 C dried cherries

Preheat oven to 350F. Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper (I only needed 2...I have large baking sheets), set aside. In medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

Place chopped chocolate and butter in a large heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water; stir until melted and smooth. (I have used the microwave for this step before in making other things that require melting butter and chocolate together.) Remove from heat; whisk in sugars, then eggs, until smooth.

Whisk in dry ingreds just until combined (do not overmix). Fold in chocolate chunks and dried cherries. Press plastic wrap directly onto surface of dough and refrigerate until firm, 30-40 minutes. (I left it in the fridge for 35 minutes and it was way too hard to handle; next time, I'll only put it in for maybe 15 minutes.)

Drop mounds of dough (about 2 level tablespoons) about 2 inches apart onto prepared sheets. Bake until edges are firm (but not darkening...as if you could tell; I know I couldn't), 11-13 minutes. Cool on sheets for 1-2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy!

"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." ~ Douglas Adams