One of my latest and greatest food obsessions is dried cherries. They are. so. good. I just buy an entire container from Whole Foods and put them in my yogurt, sprinkle them on salads, or just eat a few plain when I’m having a sweet tooth.
The only problem is that they’re a bit pricey, so I try very hard to eat them in moderation. Funny story, though, I went on vacation a few weeks ago, and a couple days after I came home I was looking for my dried cherry stash and could not find them anywhere. I thought I was going crazy and didn’t actually have my usual supply on hand (which is unheard of), and I asked Greg if he’d seen them. Guess what? He ate them ALL when I was gone! Turns out I’m not the only one slightly obsessed…
Okay, enough story time, what are we making?
I want to like oatmeal raisin cookies so badly. I love oatmeal, and cookies are great, so why can’t I like these cookies long-considered underdogs in the dessert world? I guess I just don’t love raisins. Which is also a little strange, because I do like most dried fruit, but for some reason I always find myself picking these little devils out of my trail mix. Hmmm.
So one day, when I was devouring some delicious dried cherries, I came up with the amazing idea to make oatmeal cookies with cherries instead of raisins. Genius, right?!
Turns out, I was right, and these cookies are an absolute game changer. Who needs oatmeal raisin when you can make these little gems?
Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go
Here is the fun and wholesome list of ingredients you’ll need for these cookies.
Rolled oats Not quick oats, not steel cut. For this recipe, you’ll get the best results using rolled or old-fashioned oats
Whole wheat flour Yes, you can use regular flour as well, but I was trying to keep these on the healthier side of the cookie spectrum (if that’s a thing)
Brown sugar and maple syrup My preferred sweeteners for this kind of cookie
Baking powder, cinnamon, and kosher salt Just a few baking necessities
Greek yogurt This will help keep the cookies nice and moist, since the flour and oats can easily dry them out
Milk, butter, and an egg Some additional baked goods royalty
Dried cherries Be still my beating heart
Dark chocolate chips These will probably dock us a few health points on the cookie spectrum, but they’re NECESSARY
Whether or not you’re a fan of oatmeal raisin cookies, please try these chocolatey cherry ones, and let me know what you think! They go great with a cup of tea.
⟶ the recipe
recipe name
ingredients
1 ¼ cup rolled oats
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
½ teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons greek yogurt
2 tablespoons maple syrup
4 tablespoons melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup of milk
1 large egg
¼ cup dried cherries
¼ cup dark chocolate chips
Prep time
10 minutes
Cook time
10 minutes
Total time
20 minutes
Makes 12 cookies
instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and prepare a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper.
Mix together the dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a medium bowl, mix the wet ingredients. Stir into dry ingredients. Stir in the dried cherries and chocolate chips. The dough should be a pretty thick consistency, and it will be very sticky. With oiled hands, roll 12 balls of dough and place on the prepared baking sheet.
Bake for 10 minutes, and when cookies look set and slightly browned, transfer to a cooling rack before eating (devouring).
