Cherry Chip Cookies in the Friday Cookie Jar

I had one problem with developing this recipe. 

I couldn't decide what to call it.

Like The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond, recently wrote about on her blog, I too have a pet peeve about recipes with long names. These cookies are filled with dried cherries, white chocolate chips, and oatmeal. As much as I wanted to say all of that in the name, I thought Dried Cherry White Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies was a little over the top. So I settled for Cherry Chip Cookies instead, hoping the recipe would explain the rest.

The inspiration for these cookies came from a recent trip I took with Mom to the Dutch Bakery and Bulk Food Store in Tipton, Missouri. The place is filled with bulk food items all bagged and ready for purchase. On one aisle, I was attracted to a little bag filled with deep-red dried cherries, and when I saw a bag of mini white chocolate chips on the next aisle, I knew exactly what recipe I wanted to make.

 

These cookies are a lovely bedtime snack, along with an ice-cold glass of milk and a good book. Or perhaps you would like them for breakfast (after all, there is oatmeal in the recipe), with an afternoon cup of tea or coffee, or as an after-dinner dessert. (I’d choose all of the above!)

This morning I put a plate full of cookies out on the little table by the elevators down the hall from my apartment. By noontime, the cookies were all gone.

Yep, these cookies are good!

I created the Friday Cookie Jar as inspiration to spend time in the kitchen with family and friends (especially children, since they love to make cookies), or to make something to share with others. Cherry Chip Cookies are great for doing both.

 

Cherry Chip Cookies

Makes about 48 cookies

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup chopped dried cherries

1 cup mini white chocolate chips

3 1/2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugars until smooth. With the mixer on low, add the eggs one at a time until blended. Mix in the vanilla. Then slowly stir in the flour mixture until it is just combined. Add the cherries, chips and oatmeal, and mix to combine.

Roll spoonfuls of the dough into 1 1/2-inch balls and place them on the baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Slightly flatten the balls with your hands to 1/2-inch thick cookie rounds. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, or until the cookies are golden brown, rotating the pans halfway through the baking time.

Remove the baking sheet from the oven and allow it to stand for 2 minutes. Then remove the cookies to a rack to finish cooling. Store in an airtight container.