Chocolate-Chip Oatmeal Cookies with Dried Cherries

Bon Appétit (September 2009)

We've mentioned before that our favorite cookie is of the chocolate-chip oatmeal variety. For us, it just hits all the right notes that a good cookie should.

So we were really excited to see these cookies in the September issue of Bon Appétit. It's our favorite go-to cookie with one special twist: dried cherries.

Though we love the idea of incorporating dried cherries into these cookies, in the finished product we found them to not add much flavor. Combined with the chocolate chips and oatmeal, the cherry flavor was lost. They did supply some interesting texture in the cookie, but not so much that we would incorporate them again. 

Plus, dried cherries are not cheap and add significantly to the cost of making these cookies. We're fine with that if it makes for a better cookie, but here, we didn't find it to be worth the extra expense. 

In the end, it's not a bad cookie.  But it's not a great one, either.  

So it looks like our search for the perfect Chocolate-Chip Oatmeal Cookie will have to continue. We think we're up for the challenge!

Chocolate-Chip Oatmeal Cookies with Dried Cherries
Bon Appétit (September 2009)
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(This photo: Bon Appétit)

Makes about 4 dozen

• PREP: 20 MIN
• TOTAL: 1 HOUR

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups old-fashioned oats
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cups dried tart cherries (6 ounces)
• 1 1/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preparation

• Position 1 rack in bottom third and 1 rack in top third of oven; preheat to 375°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Blend first 4 ingredients in processor 30 seconds. Add eggs; process to blend. Add next 4 ingredients. Using on/off turns, process until oats are coarsely chopped and mixture is blended. Transfer to large bowl. Mix in cherries and chocolate chips.

• Spoon batter by rounded tablespoonfuls onto prepared baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart (cookies will spread). Bake until tops of cookies are golden brown, rotating baking sheets after 7 minutes, about 14 minutes total. Transfer cookies to rack; let cool. Repeat with remaining batter.