Dark Chocolate Cherry Shortbread Cookies
When you’re a baker you are constantly thinking of new things to bake, even if they aren’t necessarily your favorite flavors. Your husband, your friend, that girl at the market you overheard saying she LOVES lemon and cranberry - yeah, it’s a thing. Those kinds of things just stick in my head at all times, and I don’t even know where they come from sometimes. A big part of baking is sharing and wanting to bake things for other people, even if I know that it won’t be my new favorite thing. Cherry has never been my favorite flavor, if I want something fruity I usually always go for lemon. But, just because it’s not my top pick doesn’t mean I don’t love creating new things and trying them out.
Last week, we got some dried cherries at the health food store. They just looked delicious so I bought a small bag. I was snacking on them, and it made me think I should put them into a shortbread cookie with chocolate, because Delaney loves chocolate and cherry. When we first started dating, I could always put a smile on his face if I picked up a pint of Cherry Garcia Ice Cream at the market. I wanted nothing to do with it, and it probably made him even more happy knowing I bought it exclusively for him. Baking things for other people is something I will always love doing. Making someone else happy with something as simple as a cookie is something I will never get over. Why can’t everything else in the world be this easy?
These Dark Chocolate Cherry Shortbread Cookies are perfect for fall. They are so easy to bake because you make the dough ahead of time, and leave it in the fridge overnight. All you have to do is cut and bake them, they are like slice and bake cookies but homemade! I didn’t think of that until right now, and that makes these even more awesome! These cookies are perfect for any Fall gathering or dinner party and you don’t have to spend the day baking, just slice the log, and throw them in the oven. These would also make an amazing addition to any Thanksgiving table, just saying.
Dark Chocolate Cherry Shortbreads
Makes 16
1 stick (113 grams) organic salted butter, softened
71 grams (1/2 cup) organic powdered sugar, sifted
2 teaspoons all natural cherry flavor (like Frontier Co-Op)
191 grams (1 1/2 cups) organic all purpose flour
43 grams (1/4 cup) organic dried cherries
28 grams (3 tablespoons) chopped organic dark chocolate
organic cane sugar for topping
Method In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter, powdered sugar and cherry flavor. Mix on low until you don’t see powdered sugar. There should still be chunks of butter, do not over mix.
Add the flour, cherries and dark chocolate and mix until it looks like wet sand. This will not come together completely at this stage.
On a piece of plastic wrap dump out the dough and shape it into a log. It should start to come together more the more you shape it with your hands. The log should be a rectangle that is about 6 x 2 x 2 inches. Wrap it completely in plastic wrap. You can even shape it more, and a little better once it’s completely wrapped. You can also smooth out the sides at this time as well. Place the log in the fridge overnight.
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Trim off the edges and slice the dough log into about 16 cookies that are about 1/4 inch thick. Place on a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Bake for 13 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.
Sprinkle with sugar after coming out of the oven.
Store in an airtight container for up to 7 days.
High Altitude – Bake at 350°F for 12 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.