Dark Chocolate Cherry Cookies (★ ★ ★ ★ ☆)

True to my word, here is this Thursday's post.  The Dark Chocolate Cherry cookie.

Honestly, I don't even know what to begin to say about these.  Words just jumble up when I try to write.

They were that good.

I wanted to make something to bring to work.  You know the whole "winning friends and influencing people" thing.  And not only that, by getting them out of the house immediately it keeps the baking binge (you know...the just a bite here and the just one more cookie there) to a one day maximum. No leftovers. It's a win-win really.

All I knew is that whatever I made had to be dark chocolate.  I had visions of chocolate cookies so dark they were almost black...just like my Deep Dark Chocolate Cupcakes.

That's when I came across these Dark Chocolate Cherry Cookies.  Just one look and I knew these were the cookies for me.

Deep chocolate cookie.  Dark chocolate chips.  And to spice things up...sour cherries.

To get the super dark look, you need to use Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa powder. 

All cocoa powder is essentially dark chocolate because no milk has been added, but I've found that it's only this brand that provides the extra dark coloring.  

And don't be fooled into thinking it's because it says "dutch processed."  I've read that too.  But after I spent $12 on an imported box of "dutch processed" cocoa from Whole Foods, I learned a valuable...and semi expensive lesson.  For taste, maybe imported is best, but if you want the darkest cookies you need to go with Hershey's.  Plus it'll save you $7.

Cherries are kind of expensive.  If you want to use cranberries they might save you some cash and they're easier to find.

These were pretty tart, especially in contrast to the rich cookie.  Surprisingly, I think that substituting the cherries for cranberries would actually sweeten up the whole ensemble, if tart isn't really your preference.

I splurged and bought the best dark chocolate chips I could find.  I mean, go hard or go home right?  Believe me, it was an utter chore to keep from snacking on these.

Thick delicious batter.  The.  Best.  Chocolate.  Cookie.  Dough.  Ever.

Need.
Tums.

You can't tell me you're not drooling right now.

These turned out so good, I almost didn't want to share.  

But then something came over me and I had to share.  I had to get these into the hands of any person who was willing to give them a try.  And if they weren't, it was suddenly my job to convince them that they were committing a grave mistake.  

This is the type of cookie that ruins people.  Beware. 

I ate one...or several...every day for three days.  Just to see how they would hold up.  :)

The verdict?  Pretty well.  Pretty, darn, well.