Chocolate Cherry Bars
These have been one of my favorite cookies for a long time. When I was putting together care packages for our not-so-near and but-very-dear they were part of the lineup. Crumbly chocolate cookie flecked with toasted coconut and filled with sour cherries and chunks of dark chocolate. What more do I have to say?
Chocolate Cherry Bars
Adapted from Martha Stewart’s Cookies
I love this book partly for the fool-proof recipes, but mostly because the cookies are arranged by texture and for the pictorial table of contents.
1-1/4 (6 oz or 170 g) cups dried cherries, coarsely chopped
1-1/4 cups (280 g) unsalted butter, all but 2 tbsp. (30 g) cut into small pieces
1 cup (225 g) sugar
2/3 (155 ml) cup water
1/2 cup (45 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp (5 g) salt
3/4 (110 g) cup light brown sugar
1 cup (85 g) unsweetened shredded coconut lightly toasted
2 cups (260 g) plus 7-1/2 tsp (60 g) all-purpose flour
1 large egg
2 tbsp cherry liquor (optional, I used maraschino, but you could also use kirsch)
1/2 cup (3.5 oz or 105 g) semisweet chocolate chunks
Preheat oven to 350-degrees Farenheit. Butter a 9″ square baking pan and line with parchment paper or aluminum foil, allowing for a 2″ overhang. Butter parchment or foil.
Bring the cherries, 2 tbsp (30 g) butter, 1/4 cup (56 g) sugar, and the water to simmer in a saucepan over medium heat. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until almost all of the liquid has been absorbed, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in another 1/4 cup (56 g) of sugar. Cool, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved.
Whisk together the cocoa powder, salt, brown sugar, coconut and 2 cups (260 g) flour. Blend in the remaining butter with your fingers or a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Pack about 3 cups of the chocolate mixture into the baking pan. Bake until just set, about 20 minutes.
Whisk together the egg, the remaining 1/2 cup (113 g) sugar, and the liquor (if using) until pale. Fold in the cherry mixture and the remaining 7-1/2 tsp (60 g) flour; stir in the chocolate. Spread mixture over crust. Sprinkle with the rest of the chocolate dough.
Bake for about 50 minutes, a toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean. These cookies stay fresh for a while, at least 5 days (which is why they make such good care package material).
3 Responses to “Chocolate Cherry Bars”
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A cookie cookbook organized by textures? Brilliant! These cookies looks great and I love the crumbly cookie pic.
It’s a genius book and these cookies are like crack.
Yes those cookies are like crack. I swear, you could sell them by the millions, no, billions!