Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Cake of the Week: Choco-Cherry Macadamia Cookies

Cookies are always a good idea. They should be in my kitchen, in my desk drawer, in my purse. (Oh wait, is that a recipe for a cookie-licious fatstorm? Yes please!) It's been a few weeks since I made cookies, and as a result I've been suffering from a bit of cookie-withdrawal (diagnosed by acute to severe cookie cravings).
Luckily I have been a certified cookie-conjurer since about 1995. My mama let my sisters and I make our own cookies, pretty much whenever we wanted. I didn't branch out from the traditional chocolate chip and oatmeal cookies until high school (just because I know what I like. And I know what the fam likes). But now I'm getting more and more creative with my cookies! (Remember the Biscotti? The Coconut Cookies? The Fluffy-Puffy Coffee Spice Cookies? The Molasses Ginger Cookies? Mmmmmm...) 
So here we go - in honor of all things chocolatey and cookie-y: 

Choco-Cherry Macadamia Cookies

2 cups flour 
2 teaspoon baking powder 
1 teaspoon baking soda 
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 
2/3 cup unsweet cocoa powder 
1 large bag 12 oz chocolate chips 
1/4 teaspoon almond extract 
1 teaspoon pure vanilla 
1 1/2 cups of granulated sugar 
1 cup butter 
2 large eggs (at room temperature) 
1 cup macadamia nuts, walnuts, pecans, or your favorite kind coarsely chopped optional 
1/2 cup chopped dried cherries (optional)

Preheat oven to 350*
In a large bowl cream butter, sugar, eggs, and extracts. Sift flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add to creamed mixture. Stir in chips and nuts. Drop by teaspoonfuls or roll into round balls, flatten a little with the palm of your hand then onto ungreased cookie sheets, sprinkle with sugar crystals or regular sugar. Bake at 350 8 minutes. Cool.

Mmmmmmm, I LOVE cookie dough. Maybe even more than cookies! 
Oh and GOOD NEWS! Thanks to your positive thoughts (and probably some of his own merit), PhotoMan got the job and will be moving back to DC soon, gracing us with his gorgeous pictures in exchange for baked goods. YAY!