Cherry Chocolate Cookies

Day 2 of the Christmas Cookies from 2010. This recipe is one of mine.

I had exactly 2 complaints about this. One, dried cherries cost an arm and a leg and two, dried cherries are a lot bigger than I thought they would be. Other than that, this recipe is very good, especially if you like chocolate (especially dark chocolate). Since I do, I've been working very hard at not eating all of these at once.

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
2 cups flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 6oz bag dried cherries
1 12oz bag of dark chocolate chips (look for Hershey's or Ghiradelli, both make dark chocolate chips)

Start by heating your oven to 350. Yes, always, always, always preheat your oven!

Cream together the butter and both sugars. Add eggs and beat well. In another bowl, mix flour, cocoa powder and baking soda. Slowly add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture, mixing as you go. Add both vanilla and almond extract and mix well. Finally gently mix in the cherries and chocolate chips.

Plop them down on cookie sheets and bake for 12 to 14 minutes. Mine came out very soft at first, but once they finished setting up, they were wonderful, soft and chewy, lots of chocolate with a wonderful surprise of cherry in it. Trust me, if you like chocolate, this will send you reeling!