In my world, no holiday is needed to enjoy chocolate, but the holidays sure are a great excuse to do just that. I posted this recipe last year, almost exactly a year ago, in fact. It stands the test of time, and it’s worth sharing with everyone again.
Like many of you, I’ve hardly had time lately to eat a cookie, much less bake them. But my plan is to carve out some time this weekend to make some of these dreamy, delicious, chocolately drops of goodness. Thankfully, the recipe is simple. You’ll be impressed at how the flavors of chocolate, cardamom, and sour cherry play off of each other.
Enjoy and have a fabulous weekend!
Note: Adapted from a recipe in the December 2009 issue of Body + Soul Magazine. Photo to the right by Stacey Young.
Chocolate Drop Cookies with Sour Cherries and Pistachios
Prep time- 15-20 minutes
Cook time- 8 minutes Max
Yield: 5 dozen (or slightly less if you like cookie dough as much as I do)
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (I used pastry flour, and it worked perfectly)
- 1 scant teaspoon cardamom powder
- 3 egg whites (save the yolks for another use. Perhaps for a custard or for feeding a pet)
- Small pinch of salt
- 2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chunks or chips, melted and cooled (If you are avoiding dairy, check the ingredient list to make sure there are no milk products in the chocolate chips/chunks).
- Generous 1/3 cup chopped, dried sour cherries
- Generous 1/3 cup toasted pistachios plus approx. 2-3 Tablespoons more for garnishing tops of cookies
- Generous 1/3 cup chocolate chips or chunks, NOT melted
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the cocoa and flour and cardamom powder.
3. With a hand mixer, or a stand-up mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the egg whites and salt at medium speed until frothy. (You’ll see bubbles). With the mixer running, slowly add in the confectioners’ sugar. When all of it has been added, raise the speed to high, and beat until the egg whites are the consistency of marshmallows. Now beat in the vanilla.
4. Reduce the mixer speed to medium, and beat in half of the melted, cooled chocolate. Then beat in half of the cocoa-flour mixture, scraping the sides of the bowl to incorporate all ingredients. Repeat with the rest of the chocolate and cocoa-flour mix. Stop the mixer.
5. By hand, gently fold in the cherries, pistachios, and chocolate chips or chunks. Let sit until thick enough to scoop, about 5 minutes.
6. As dough sets, prepare parchment paper and place on cookies sheets.
7. Now it’s time to scoop the cookie dough onto the cookie sheets. Scoop by the level teaspoonful. Leave about an inch in between cookies. Try to keep the cookies the same size to ensure they cook evenly.
8. Garnish cookies with whole and/or pistachio pieces. Looks so festive and pretty!
9. Bake 6-8 minutes, until cookies are a bit cracked on the outside. (I personally like my cookies on the soft, moist, and chewy side, so 7 minutes was plenty of time for mine in my particular oven. If, like me, you prefer softer cookies, remember, they might look slightly undercooked when first taken out of the oven).
10. Remove from oven and let cool. This is the part where recipes always say to cool the baked goods on a wire rack. Well, I don’t own any wire racks, so mine just cooled on the sheets, and no one’s complaining.
Approximate Nutrition facts from Body + Soul Magazine:
Note, my version is probably a bit more caloric, due to my heavy hand with the cherries, pistachios, and also due to the fact that I added in extra chocolate chips Hey, it’s the holidays! :
Per cookie:
30 Calories
1 gram protein
4 grams carbohydrates
1.5 grams of fat (0.7 saturated)
0 grams of fiber
Updated to Add a BONUS: Fun Weekend Contest. Win a $50 shopping spree on one of my favorite sites, iherb.com . Stop by Love Veggies and Yoga, one of my favorite blogs, to find out how.