Dark Chocolate Chunk and Dried Cherry CookiesPrint Recipe

I am wondering if there is something that Gwyneth Paltrow cannot do. As if being an acclaimed actress, wife and mother of two beautiful children and a singing sensation on ‘Glee’ was not enough – she is an avid home cook and has just released her first cook book ‘My Father’s Daughter’. And by all reputes it appears she really knows her stuff – I am very impressed.

I ordered my copy of this book the other day and got a little impatient waiting for it to arrive, so I did some googling and came across her newsletter ‘Goop‘. Goop is full of information on lots of stuff and had just what I was after – a couple of cookie recipes. I chose to make the Dark Chocolate Chunk and Dried Cherry Cookies, which were actually developed by Katie Lee Joel (who has her own cook book – The Comfort Table) and tweaked slightly by Gwyneth.

These cookies have everything you would hope for in a great snack time treat – they are buttery and sweet, with chunks of chocolate that contrast nicely with the almost (but not quite) tart dried cherries and are perfectly textured being slightly chewy with a lightly crisped exterior.

They are doing a good job of tiding me over till My Father’s Daughter arrives. I ate quite a few and then packed up the rest for my daughter’s school picnic in Central Park – as testament to a good cookie, they were gone in a matter of minutes. As for Gwyneth, I am looking forward to more of her recipes and seeing what she will conquer next.

Ingredients
2 1/4 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (113 grams/4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
226 grams/ 8 ounces dark chocolate, coarsely chopped (be sure to use a high-quality chocolate with more than 60% cacao)
1 cup dried cherries (about 170 grams/6 ounces), coarsely chopped
1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped (optional)

Preheat the oven to 185c/375f.

Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt together into a bowl.

In the bowl of an electric mixer (or in a bowl using a handmixer), beat the butter with the sugars until light and fluffy, about three minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until incorporated. Beat in the vanilla. On low speed, add the flour mixture. With a wooden spoon, fold in the chocolate, cherries and pecans (if you’re using them).

Scoop by heaping tablespoonful onto two nonstick or greased cookie sheets. Bake until golden and chewy, about 12 minutes, rotating the sheets after six minutes. Transfer the cookies to a rack to cool and repeat the process with the remaining dough.

Yeild: 2 dozen cookies

Notes: I actually chilled my cookie dough for 1/2 hour prior to forming the cookies and then another 1/2 hour prior to baking – it made the dough easier to handle and the cookie shape held a little better.

Source:Gywneth Paltrow adapted from Katie Lee Joel

© 2011, Michelle. All rights reserved.