Photography and styling: Tilly Pamment
A good chocolate biscuit is rather life-affirming, don’t you think? Its ability to turn even the most mediocre day around (if just for a little while) is nothing short of miraculous. I think at least some of their charm comes from the fact that a biscuit or cookie is rather diminutive, and therefore less imposing than, say, a great hulking slice of cake. Meanwhile, if you’re a chocoholic, there is nothing better than a double chocolate treat, such as these double chocolate and sour cherry cookies. Deliciously squishy sherry-soaked sour cherries add a lovely fruity flavour and help to balance the deep, indulgent chocky base.
The other drawcard of these double chocolate and sour cherry cookies would have to be the relative ease of making, and of transportation, making them the perfect edible gift and expression of love. Keep them in mind next time you want to make a handmade gift for a loved one or a take-a-plate treat to be shared.
How long will the chocolate and cherry cookies keep?
Store the cooled double chocolate and sour cherry cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
What other flavours can you include?
While double chocolate and sour cherry will appeal to those who love a fruity flavour, others might prefer a nutty taste. Nuts are the perfect partner to chocolate – think macadamias, pistachios or hazelnuts, or even swirls of peanut butter. Delicious! Love coffee? Espresso powder also makes a great addition to chocolate cookies.
Ingredients
Method
First, plump the dried cherries by placing them in a small saucepan and pouring over the Pedro Ximenez or brewed tea. Place the saucepan over a medium heat and bring to the boil. Once boiling, remove from the heat, pop the lid on and allow the cherries to cool and plump, stirring once or twice.
When the cherries are cool, preheat oven to 150°C fan-forced, and line 3 baking trays with baking paper (you can also cook the cookies in batches if you only have one tray). Make the cookie dough by placing the softened butter, caster sugar and golden syrup in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat again until mixture is pale and well combined.
Place the plain flour, sifted cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, bicarb soda and 2/3 of the chopped chocolate in a mixing bowl, stirring well to combine. Add the dry ingredients to the mixer bowl with the creamed butter and sugar mixture and mix on low speed until just combined. Lastly, add the soaked sour cherries and any remaining liquid (there shouldn’t be much) and mix again briefly.
Using your hands, roll tablespoonfuls of dough into balls, flatten slightly between your palms and place onto lined trays (if you find the dough is too soft to handle, place the mixture in the fridge for 30 minutes or so, until firm enough to roll). Leave plenty of space between cookies as they will spread considerably in the oven. Divide the remaining chopped chocolate between cookies and press gently onto the surface, before sprinkling with a little flaky salt, if using.
Bake biscuits in preheated oven for 10 minutes. Take the trays out of the oven and being careful not to burn yourself, or tip the biscuits off the tray, drop the tray once or twice onto the bench. This helps flatten the domed middle of the cookies, encouraging them to spread evenly (you can re-shape the cookies at this point too, if you like, by using a large round cookie cutter to coax them back into a neat circle). Return the cookies to the oven for a further 6-8 minutes or until the cookies are set around the edges (6 minutes will give you a bit of chew in the middle, whilst 8 minutes will give you a crisper cookie).
The cookies will still be soft when you take them out of the oven, but will firm up as they cool. Allow to cool on the tray for at least 10 minutes before serving.
