Making a great thing even better: Momofuku-esque Chocolate Cherry Cookies

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There are times when you think a recipe just can't get any better.  It's gone beyond 'tried and true' to be a real favorite, not just a go-to but something people talk about for days after the product of said recipe is gone.  The ingenious combination of chocolate chips, oats, and dried cherries in a cookie is one of those recipes for me.  People never expect it, and they always rave about it once they've tried it.

But then.  I tried something new with it.  I know, blasphemy, but I was curious!  For months, I've been watching other bloggers try the Momofuku Milk Bar Compost Cookie recipe, and I keep wanting to try it but we never have the required snack foods lying around (mostly because on the rare occasions that we do, I eat them all before I can think of doing anything else with them).  But last week, I really wanted to bake something special for my porter – who'd saved me in a really horrible, ambulance-requiring moment – and I decided on my awesome cherry chocolate cookies, with a Momofuku twist.

Of course, for this recipe you will almost definitely need a stand mixer, because the trick to making the cookies taste so unusual and amazing, apparently, is whipping the butter, sugars, and eggs for ten minutes on medium-high speed.  Which I guess you could do with a hand mixer, but you'd have to have strong arms and endless patience.  I wouldn't have managed it.
 

It's worth the effort, though (especially if your Kitchenaid is the one working hard), because the end result is this glossy, fluffy, whipped amazingness, which tastes like heaven and makes for one chewy, flavorful cookie.

The dough is actually good enough to eat all on its own.  I had to be physically restrained by the bf from making myself ridiculously ill on the stuff.  (Sidebar: sorry for the blurry pic.  For some reason I really liked it anyway, so I felt the need to include it.)

The cookies come out perfectly brown, crispy along the edges and chewy/soft in the center, with a wonderful saltiness that complements the sweet chocolate and a delicious tang from the tart dried cherries.

Needless to say, this will be my preferred method of cookie dough mixing from here on out.  It does require some serious chilling before baking, to keep the cookies from melting into nothingness in the hot oven, so it takes a good bit of extra time, but the dough lasts up to a week in the fridge so you can always throw some together and bake on demand for a week.  In fact, I think I might go do that now...I suspect we'll be needing more cherries soon...

Cherry Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies, Revised:

     inspired in part by The Amateur Gourmet

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream until fluffy:

     1 c (225g) unsalted butter, softened

     1 c sugar

     3/4 c brown sugar

Add, mixing on low speed until combined:

     2 eggs

     1 tsp vanilla

  

Turn mixer to med-high speed and set a timer for ten minutes.  Walk away.  Have a cup of tea or chop up that mass of chocolate that was the result of your 4lb bag of chocolate chips melting together.  

When the timer goes off, turn the mixer off, then add in and mix on low speed, just until incorporated:

     1 3/4 c flour

     2 tsp salt

     2 tsp baking powder

     1 tsp baking soda

On low speed again, mix in:

     1 c oats

     1 c dried cherries

     1 1/2 c chocolate chips 

Portion with a cookie scoop or two tablespoons onto parchment-lined cookies sheets, 2" apart, cover with cling film, and chill at least one hour.

When you're ready to bake the cookies, set the oven to 400F/200C.  Bake, one tray at a time, until browned at the edges, with the golden color moving toward the center, and slightly cracked on top, 8-11 minutes.  Let cool completely on sheet before eating (yeah, right).