Double Chocolate Cherry Cookies (whole grain, dairy-free)
These double chocolate cherry cookies are incredibly dark and soft, with bursts of tartness thanks to dried tart cherries!
I was asked to participate in the National Cherry Month #GoTart Campaign as a member of the Healthy Aperture Blogger Network. I was compensated for my time but the opinions expressed are, as always, my own!
As someone who doesn’t like vegetables, I try to eat a ton of fruit, and at this point of the year, I’m ridiculously tired of apples, oranges, and bananas.Enter dried tart cherries! I’ve been snacking on them for the past few weeks and thought I’d throw them into some cookies to see how they did. And, well… look. I think it worked out. ;)
The dried tart cherries add the nicest little bursts of tartness! And as a bonus, they make these 100% whole wheat (and dairy-free!) double chocolate cookies rich in Vitamin A. I used semi-sweet chocolate, but you can use dark chocolate if you like.
By the way, if you love tart cherries, try this great Moon Milk!
I prefer eating these straight from the oven when they’re warm and gooey, but if you have any leftovers the day after baking, I really recommend popping them in the microwave for 10 seconds. Weirdly enough, my husband prefers them at room temperature and liked how they hardened up a little on the second and third days.
These cookies have a lot more sugar than I usually use, but after trial after trial of not-so-nicely-textured double chocolate cookies, I just went with the sugar. If you want non-cakey cookies, you just have to go with it!
I think these are perfect year-round cookies. Wishing for the summer in the winter? Tart cherry cookies. Like the red theme for Valentine’s Day but don’t want to use food coloring? Make these! Have fresh tart cherries in the summer? I haven’t actually tried it, but it at least sounds interesting!
Double Chocolate Cherry Cookies (whole grain, dairy-free)
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups (187 grams) whole wheat flour or whole spelt flour or white whole wheat flour
- 1 cup (124 grams) Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 cup (168 grams) refined coconut oil
- 1 1/4 cups (250 grams) unrefined sugar
- 1/4 cup (80 grams) honey
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 2 large eggs 50 grams each out of shell, room temp
- 2/3 cup (120 grams) chocolate chips use Enjoy Life chocolate chips for a dairy-free version
- 1 cup (120 grams) tart cherries dried
Instructions
- Preheat the oven 350°F (176°C) and line a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder.1 1/2 cups (187 grams) whole wheat flour, 1 cup (124 grams) Dutch-process cocoa powder, 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- In a large microwave safe bowl, melt the coconut oil.3/4 cup (168 grams) refined coconut oil
- To the melted coconut oil, add the sugar, honey, vanilla and eggs and stir until well combined. Let it sit for 5 minutes to let the sugar dissolve.1 1/4 cups (250 grams) unrefined sugar, 1/4 cup (80 grams) honey, 1 tablespoon vanilla, 2 large eggs
- Add the dry mix to the wet and stir until well combined.
- Stir in the chocolate chips and dried tart cherries.2/3 cup (120 grams) chocolate chips, 1 cup (120 grams) tart cherries
- Roll into 24 1-1/4″ balls and place them 2″ apart on the prepared baking sheet.
- Press the balls down with the palm of your hand.
- Bake for 6-8 minutes or until the cookies appear set in the middle. Do not over bake!
- Let the cookies cool for two minutes on the baking sheet and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
Notes
- You can use unrefined coconut oil if you don’t mind the coconut taste.
- The nutrition information provided is calculated as a courtesy and is only an estimate. I am not a licensed nutritionist or dietitian. For the most accurate nutritional data, consult a professional or use your preferred calculator.
Yum! Chocolate cookies with cherries sound amazing! I like to use cherries when making pound cakes :D
I’ve never tried that but it sounds amazing!
Can’t wait for these to be in my mouth lol…
Haha. Well I hope it happens soon enough! :)
These look delicious! :) I enjoy cherries in my granola in the morning.
Thanks, Allison! And cherry granola sounds great. What about chocolate cherry granola?! Mmm. I think I need to make that. :)
Awesome sauce! A nice way to introduce cherries to my baking!
Yup! Just toss them into anything chocolatey. Can just make things more interesting. ;)
Oh my goodness, I love tart cherries! I eat them at night with chocolate and cashews to help me sleep :)
Are tart cherries good for that? I had no idea. :)
I made banana bread yesterday with dried cherries and chocolate chips – YUM!!
That sounds like an awesome use for them! :)
These cookies look unbelievable! Seriously amazing!
Thanks a bunch, Jocelyn! :)
Ohh those cookies are right up my alley!!! I like dried cherries in nut bars too (nuts, dates and dried cherries in the food processor!!)
Whoa! That sounds amazing. Definitely need to think about trying that. :)
Double chocolate anything is good, but mixing in cherries too? That’s pure genius! I wish I could just pick out a cookie from my screen and eat it now :)
Wish I could share, Kayla! :)
I love anything with chocolate and cherries, these cookies are just what my afternoon needs!
And your morning and your evening. ;)
I like dried cherries in a salad.
Great idea! Now to only get me to like salad. ;)
I love cherries dipped in chocolate! A nice tart-sweet combo :)
Mmm! Sounds super tasty. :)
Chocolate and cherry are so wonderful together! I love dried cherries mixed into my oatmeal (with chocolate chips and almonds, of course)
Hehe. Gotta have the chocolate! :)
These sound and look delicious! Why did I chose to go paleo? Just kidding. I may be making these for my nonpaleo eating family members, I am sure they will love them.
Haha. Sorry, Hannah! I’ll have some grain-free goodies coming up soon. :) I hope your family will like the cookies!
I would love these in cookies, muffins, or a bread.
Thanks for the chance to win.
You’re welcome, Charlotte! :)
These look amazing, Erin! I made something similar last weekend, but faaaaar from healthy ;) Can’t wait to try your version!
Hehe. Can’t wait to see what you did with your cherries! :)
AWESOME looking cookies! Can’t wait to make for office!!!!
Thank you! And I hope they’ll love them! :)
I am loving the ingredient list for these cookies! And you can’t go wrong with cherry and chocolate. They’d make a great Valentine’s treat this week :)
Agreed! Chocolate and cherries… always a good thing. :)
Really excited to try this recipe. I love chocolate and cherries together
I hope you’ll love them, Melissa! :)
I love dried cherries mixed in with a nut blend. Throwing in some chocolate doesn’t hurt, either! :)
Ooh, a nut blend! Great idea. :)