Cookie Exchange Time
I read a lot of blogs and have been very fortunate to chat often via comments and posts with many very talented people. I also get a lot of great ideas and inspiration from these folks.
Take Phil at The Regular Guy NYC. Phil writes some very funny posts, albeit a tad off color at times but that is part of the charm and humor of his writing style. Recently, Phil wrote about a cookie he tried from Schmackary’s, a bakery in New York City.
“The White Chocolate Cherry Chunker is made with white chocolate, Montmorency tart cherries, oats and cinnamon.” I was lost after that point because I could not stop thinking about how badly I wanted that cookie.
I have made Cherry-White Chocolate-Macadamia Nut Cookies and Oatmeal Cherry Cookies, but something about blending white chocolate with cherries and oatmeal and cinnamon just sounded heavenly.
I spent a lot of time deciding which oats to use. Rolled oats are steamed, flattened, steamed again and roasted. Steel oats are raw, cut oats and heavier in texture and give a nuttier consistency when baked and cooked than the rolled oats.
Ultimately, I decided to use a combination of both oats. The cookies are flat and packed with tartness from the dried cherries that is tamed by the sweetness of the white chocolate chips. The steel cut oats offer a great substitution for nuts, which I did not want to include.
This holiday season, when Cookie Exchanges are a must, be sure to include these Cherry-White Chocolate-Oatmeal Cookies. Santa may appreciate a plate, too!
My voice may not be ready for a video today, but just wait until next time…you are going to LOVE it!
| Cherry-White Chocolate-Oatmeal Cookies | Print |
- 1¾ cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup steel cut oats, not quick cooking
- ¾ cup rolled oats, old fashioned not quick cooking
- 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1-2/3 cups dried tart cherries
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
- 16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- For the cookies:
- Preheat the oven to 350°. Line 2 -4 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, steel cut oats, rolled oats, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- Combine the dried cherries and white chocolate chips in a small bowl and set aside.
- Beat the butter, brown sugar and sugar together until light and creamy, about three minutes, scraping down the bowl as needed. Add the eggs and vanilla.
- Blend in the dry ingredients in two parts. Lastly, mix in the cherries/white chocolate chips.
- Scoop out two tablespoons of dough at a time and place on the prepared baking sheets, leaving 2” in between each cookie because they spread.
- Bake in a 350° oven for 15 minutes, rotating the pans top to bottom and front to back halfway through.
- Remove from the oven and cool.
- Betsy's tidbits:
- If you need to reuse the baking pans, allow them to cool completely before baking the next batch.
- If you prefer a softer cookie, bake closer to 13-14 minutes. If you prefer a crispier cookie, bake for 16 minutes.
