I’m as dazzled by a superbly embellished vacation cookie as the following particular person, however in the case of wielding a pastry bag myself, I’m not a professional. I’m far more in regards to the cookies than the piping. And whereas elaborately crafted cookies formed like delicate snowflakes or sporting ombre frostings are stunning, I may be content material with scrumptious.

However these chewy brownie cookies are fairly good-looking too, with none fancy footwork. Plus, they’re very shippable. Their fudginess means they gained’t dry out shortly, and they’re sturdy, so don’t want practically as a lot bubble wrap to guard them in transit.

This recipe is predicated on the Huge Chewy Brownie Cookies from my first cookbook The Mother 100, however I made a decision to gussy them up for the vacations. The bottom is a fudgy, moist, brownie-like batter. Dried cherries add sweet-tart chewiness, and white chocolate chips add a peek of creamy white, and a bit extra texture. They give the impression of being festive – excellent for a cookie swap!

You may make the batter as much as 5 days forward and retailer it within the fridge, or freeze the cookie balls for as much as a month in a freezer-safe zipper prime bag with the air pressed out. Allow them to defrost earlier than baking, or if baking the cookies instantly from the freezer, simply know you’ll want so as to add a couple of minutes to the cooking time.

Baked cookies will final for 5 days in a sealed container at room temperature, or one month if nicely wrapped and frozen.

To ship the cookies, ensure they’re utterly cooled earlier than packing them up. Use a sturdy corrugated cardboard field, line it with bubble wrap, and create a base with some packing peanuts and crumbled paper (you’ll be able to get your hands on eco-friendly bubble wrapping and different packing supplies). Place the cookies into plastic baggage in flat layers. Layer the baggage within the lined field, separated by extra packing materials to maintain them cushioned.

Or pack them into a reasonably container, additionally with some padding between the layers, after which nestle the container within the transport field with some extra packing materials on the highest and sides. Be certain the field is full, so the cookies don’t shift and break. Mark the field perishable, and ship by way of one- or two-night supply to your fortunate recipient.

Know what a incredible present for an excellent good friend could be? A container filled with frozen disks of this dough for them to take out and bake when the necessity arises over the vacations (or any time).

Simply write the title (Huge Chewy Brownie Cookies with Dried Cherries and White Chocolate Chips), the defrosting and baking directions, and the elements you probably have trigger to suppose they may be serving them to somebody with allergy symptoms. Tack that onto the tin, and put together to just accept grateful phrases.

Huge Chewy Brownie Cookies with Dried Cherries and White Chocolate Chips

Components:

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
4 massive eggs
1 ½ cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup white chocolate chips
¾ cup roughly chopped dried cherries

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

In a small pot, add the butter, and the unsweetened and semisweet candies, and warmth over low warmth, stirring continuously, simply till every little thing is melted and easy. Enable to chill barely.

In the meantime, in a small bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and salt. In a big bowl, beat the eggs and sugar with an electrical mixer till creamy and yellow, about one minute. Beat within the vanilla. With the mixer on low pace, mix within the flour combination in a couple of batches, simply till barely mixed.

Add the chocolate combination to the bowl and beat till easy. Let the combination cool; the batter shall be very thick. Stir within the white chocolate chips and the dried cherries (for those who stir the chocolate chips in earlier than it cools, the chocolate will begin to soften and develop into streaky, if you would like that look.)

Scoop out heaping tablespoons of the batter and create 12 mounds on a rimmed baking sheet (you’ll bake three baking sheets of cookies in all). Bake for 9 to 11 minutes till the tops are crackly and the perimeters are set. Take away from the oven and allow them to sit for one minute on the baking sheet (the cookies will sink barely), then switch them to a wire rack to complete cooling.

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Katie Workman writes recurrently about meals for The Related Press. She has written two cookbooks targeted on family-friendly cooking, “Dinner Solved!” and “The Mother 100 Cookbook.” She blogs at She may be reached at Katie@themom100.com.

Get extra recipes and dinner concepts from The Washington Instances meals part.