Sour Cherry & Almond Chunky Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Updated: Jun 19, 2022
Soft & Chewy Loaded Chocolate Chip Cookies with Roasted Almonds and Tart Dried Cherries
Active Time: 20 Minutes, Total Time: 45 Minutes
I'm a big fan of craisin chocolate chip cookies, one of my favorite recipes of the year so far is Stephanie Loo's Skillet Chocolate Chip Cookie, inspired by the iconic Mokonuts cookie.
Mokonuts is a Parisian bakery - a few years back they came out with a pretty incredible cookie - poppyseed, craisin, dark chocolate, sea salt and rye flour - when I first tried Mokonuts iconic cookie recipe (made at home) I was blown away.
I prefer a soft, chunky, loaded cookie rather than a thin and predictable Subway style cookie. It's a novel experience to have different ingredients in each bite, different proportions, and different layers of texture.
The best cookie I've had in years. Thank you! – Jane Williams
My Sour Cherry & Almond Chocolate Chip Cookies hit each of my criteria for the perfect cookie, and readers agree, too.
Crunchy, freely-chopped almonds provide a satisfying chew in combination with sticky, dried cherries. Pools of 70% dark chocolate ties the earthy almond and tart cherry together, laced up by a sprinkle of salt and a soft bake. If you're not a chocolate lover - this cookie is NOT for you.
Sour Cherry & Almond Chunky Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Ingredients
7 tablespoons salted butter (99g) softened
scant ¾ cup light or dark brown sugar* (140g)
2 egg YOLKS only
1 ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract*
½ cup whole almonds (skin-on)* (71g)
⅓ cup dried sour cherries (55g)
1 overflowing cup chopped dark chocolate* (175g)
1 ½ cup all purpose flour (180g)
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon corn starch
Procedure
Preheat the oven to 350 F and line two full-size baking sheets with parchment paper. Ensure your butter and egg yolks are room temperature.
Begin heating a small pan, roughly chop the almonds while it warms up. Roast the almonds for a few minutes until they smell fragrant, roasted and nutty. Set aside and cool.
Chop the dark chocolate, I highly recommend using a dark chocolate bar. Set aside.
In a medium sized bowl, beat butter until light and airy. Add brown sugar and continue beating on high speed for at least 2 full minutes.
Add vanilla and beat to combine, followed by each egg yolk. In a small bowl, mix flour and baking soda together, then sift over your wet ingredient mixture. Beat throughly until no dry spots remain.
All at once, add almonds, chopped chocolate and dried cherries, and beat to combine, or use your hands to incorporate the additional ingredients.
Portion the dough into 12 cookie dough balls, I like to weigh my cookie balls, each one should be roughly 70g for this recipe.
Bake 6 cookies per tray, 12-14 minutes total (until just barely brown). Alternate pans from back to front and top to bottom after 6 minutes. Let cool completely on the tray before removing.
Cookies last for 3 days in an airtight container. Save unbaked cookie dough balls in the freezer in a freezer storage bag for up to 2 months.
Notes
*dark brown sugar results in a deeper flavor profile, I enjoy the result of both, but most classic chocolate chip cookies use light brown sugar.
*there is no necessity to use pure vanilla extract, I often use artificial vanilla to save money when recipe testing.
*I believe skin-on almonds (or other nut) enhances the flavor of this recipe, pecans, or hazelnuts would be a great substitution.
*chocolate chips will change the nature of the recipe and result in denser, fatter cookies that do not spread well. we recommend using a chopped chocolate bar to achieve pools of chocolate.
Thanks for reading,
The Mellow Baker