Chocolate-y Cherry Chip Cookies

Once upon a time there was a choke cherry tree right outside my door. It was so prolific that we were able to share cherries with all the critters, the neighbors and still have enough for jams and sauces. I wish that cherry tree was here now. It’s long gone, but it still inspires recipes till this day.

The smell and taste of a plump and juicy cherry make this fruit one of my top 5 favorites. Often needing an intervention, I can polish off 2 lbs without batting an eye. And believe me, I have. This year the fresh cherries were very sweet and while they were in season, I dried a bunch not sure what I was going to use them for.

The challenge here was more about texture than flavor. As with any recipe that requires a dough like consistency, you have to balance between wet and gritty. Wanting the end product to have a cookie like texture, crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside. This is easier said than done. Personally, I prefer it to be more chewy or in this case, fudge like, than something that makes my mouth feel like the Sahara.

RAW VEGAN RECIPE: Chocolate-y Cherry Chip Cookies

1 cup almond meal

1/2 cup walnuts (pulverized)

2-3 dates (soaked for 4 hours)

3 tblsp coconut manna (coconut butter)

1 tblsp maple syrup

1 tblsp raw cacao

1/8 cup cacao nibs

1/4 cup reconstituted cherries

1/8 tsp vanilla extract*

Sea salt

*you can substitute vanilla extract with a 1/16 piece of vanilla bean

Prepare the reconstituted cherries first. Place dried cherries in a heat resistant dish (if it’s dishwasher or microwave safe, it will be fine) and fill with filtered water, a little more than what would cover the cherries. Add vanilla extract or the small piece of vanilla bean. Place in dehydrator at 115 degrees for 2 hours, checking periodically. You do not want the cherries to dry out, so if you notice the water evaporating you can add a little more to cover the cherries.

Place dry ingredients together (almond meal, pulverized walnuts, cacao and a pinch of salt into a food processor or blender and let them blend well. Add manna dates and maple syrup until it forms a dough like consistency. Remove and hand mix cherries and cacao nibs well. Roll into small balls and press on sheet flattening them down to a 1/4 – 1/8″ thick rounds. Sprinkle very lightly with a few grains of sea salt per cookie. Place in dehydrator for 12-24 hours depending on your preferred texture, which should be between piece of fudge, a brownie and a cookie.