Pretty Please With Cherries On Top

As someone who takes pleasure in cooking (and eating), I find that I get specific enjoyment when I come across a food item where I *think* I know what the taste will be, and then experience something a little bit better. Or, in this case, a lot better.

Here we have a few of the ingredients. Pretty basic stuff - flour with salt and baking soda in one bowl, eggs and some flavor extracts in another bowl, and a third bowl with some chocolate chips (in this case white and semi-sweet).

And here is the awaiting mixing bowl, which you can see already has the white and dark sugars and butter waiting. I’ll even tell ya’ that the end goal is “cookie”. So no biggie there, right?

Here’s a small bit of the dough all put together and waiting for me to parcel it out and bake it.

Did ya’ see it? Maybe you should go back and take a second look – because the extra “oh sweet mother of GOD these are incredible cookies” addition is in that dough.

Well no matter - here are the final items – just waiting for a tall glass of ice cold milk.The extra thing is there, too. Give up?
Now you may ask “how can adding something so basic like dried cherries (soaked in Kirsch and Grenadine) make that much of a difference?” It just … does. Pick up the current issue of Bon Appetit, turn to page 22, and whip up a batch and tell me if you don’t agree.

(Of course, my being a “rabid baker” means that you could also ask me to share. They were so dang good when I made them on Saturday that I made three more batches today. Guess I'll be bringing in some treats to work tomorrow.)