Cookie carnival- CHOCOLATE FUDGE COOKIES with TOFFEE and DRIED CHERRIES

Happy Valentines Day everyone!!

I think I have told everyone enough about my dramatic valentines day last year, no flowers, no presents, no dinner and so a lovely wife was furious and refused to cook dinner, someone ended up having to have KFC for dinner.. haha.. yeah yeah, I know I shouldn’t blame him for being obedient, BUT… this is the wrong time to be obedient !!! ;-)) agree, women?

Anyway, this year is my turn to plan Valentines Day (hubby and me take turns for planning the event every year). Don’t worry, I didn’t spend a fortune on the day, we went to Sidney Myer music bowl for the MSO’s free concert, it was great fun !!! And someone learned a precious lesson last year, so .. Da –Lah .. I received a bunch of lovely flowers and a teddy bear!!! I love them but at the same time I blame him for wasting the money .. (Yeah, poor him) .

Ok, enough of all the crap, back to the cookies. I love cookie carnival and this month’s cookie sounds very promising. I have omitted the toffee because I couldn’t find any in the supermarket. The cookies turned out great, very chewy. My cookies turned out huge, they are as big as my face. Delicious !!!

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened dutch-process cocoa powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup tightly packed dark brown sugar

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 cup plump, moist, dried sour cherries

8 oz. bitter or semisweet chocolate chopped into chunks about the size of the cherries

1 cup English toffee pieces for baking such as Skor Bits

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line two heavy baking sheets, not non-stick with parchment paper and set aside. Sift flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt together in a bowl and set aside. In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of an electric or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and both sugars until light in colour and fluffy - about 2 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl. Beat in the vanilla. Stir in the flour-mixture in 3 additions, blending just until the dry ingredients are moistened. This part is really easier with a wooden spoon since the batter is quite dense. The dough may be frozen at this point for up to 4 months; wrap securely in plastic wrap, then in a plastic freezer bag; thaw in the refrigerator without removing its wrapping before portioning the cookies and baking.

2. Drop the batter by heaping tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheets and place them in the centre of the oven, turning half way through baking.

3. Bake the cookies for 15-18 minutes (mine were done in 18 minutes) or until barely set in the centre and just firm around the edges. Cool cookies on tray for 3-5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely before storing. Store in air tight containers, layered between sheets of parchment or waxed paper for up to 5 days.

****** This is my entry for this month's cookie carnival *******