Chocolate Chip Walnut Cocoa Nib Cherry Cookies

I finally got up the guts to blog a bit more. It's been a while, I know. I could make excuses until you felt like slapping me in the face but I won't. I'll save my face and your soul. Guys, I'm just kinda tired and my bedtime is ever so slowly creeping up to 7:00pm. Not that extreme, but definitely something like 10:00pm. A girl can dream.

But these cookies need little introduction. The cherry season was too short this season and my craving was never fully fulfilled. My pit spiting was never perfect and not enough cherry pies were made. I just had to work with what nature gave me and used some dried cherries. And the combination of cherry and chocolate.

I brought these suckers to "A's" work BBQ and I'm proud to say they were the first baked good to run out. As I've been in a bit of a baking lull lately, I've been riding that back-patting train for a while now. So I present with little comment some of the greatest "everything-but-the-kitchen-sink" cookies this little Madison kitchen has ever produced.

  

Oatmeal Walnut Cherry Cocoa Nib Cookies

Adapted from Joy the Baker

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) goat butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
• ½ cup coarsely chopped walnuts
• 1 cup dried cherries
• 1/2 cup cocoa nibs
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Place racks in the center and upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, add butter and sugars.  Beat on medium speed until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Scrape down the bowl and beat in eggs.  Add eggs one at a time, beating for one minute on medium speed between each addition.  Beat in the vanilla extract.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Add flour mixture all at once to the butter and egg mixture.  Beat on low speed until the mixture just comes together, don't fret if there are still some pockets of flour (they'll be taken care of later.)
4. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer. With a spatula, mix in the oats, walnuts, cherries, cocoa nibs, and chocolate chips. Make sure no flour pockets remain.
5. Scoop dough out by the tablespoonful onto prepared baking sheets. Bake for 10 to 13 minutes until toasted brown on top.  Remove from the oven.  Allow to cool for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

"Bowl o' Oatmeal Cookies" Experimentation

Today is one of my days off and I felt like experimenting. No, no... not with the chemicals of science, but the chemicals of COOKING! (However, if you talk to Alton Brown, science is cooking and cooking is science). Now, I was having a hankering for peanut butter cookies, but I didn't want just plain peanut butter cookies. I wanted them to have some spice, some crunch... just a little more flavor. Hence, I thought of what I usually have in my oatmeal when I make it for breakfast: Cinnamon and Peanut Butter. Thus, the birth of "Bowl o' Oatmeal Cookies"

Ingredients:

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 1/2 cups natural peanut butter
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups AP flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats

Directions:

1. Preheat Oven to 350 degrees
2. In a large bowl, cream together butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Once light and fluffy, cream in the peanut butter, cinnamon, and vanilla until smooth.
3. Beat in the eggs one at a time until well blended.
4. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; stir into the creamed mixture. Mix in the oats until just combines. Make teaspoon-sizes balls and drop onto an un-greased cookie sheet. Flatten lightly with a fork.
5. Bake for 13 and a half minutes in the oven, or until just light brown.

UPDATE:

After testing out these cookies on my daring Bivouac co-workers, they made a few suggestions that I think I will try out the next time I make these. One - mashed bananas in the batter. Two, chocolate chips? (I kinda like how these cookies aren't ovely sweet, so I may pass on this one). Three, a little less starch.