Soft milk chocolate chips and chewy dried cherries add another dimension to crisp chocolate oatmeal cookies. Reliably sweet and always in season, dried cherries make these a good any-season fruit choice. Or mix-and-match white or dark chocolate chips and/or dried cranberries or chopped dried apricots for other combinations.
makes 23 cookies • cookie making 15 minutes • cookie baking 325 degrees, two baking sheets for about 22 minutes each
1¾ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
¼ cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
2½ cups oatmeal (not quick-cooking)
1 cup (about 5 ounces) dried cherries
2 cups (11½ ounces) milk chocolate chips
Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon into a medium bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until smoothly blended, about 1 minute. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. Add the eggs, vanilla, and almond extract and mix until blended, about 1 minute. The mixture may look curdled. On low speed, add the flour mixture and oatmeal, mixing just until the flour is incorporated and the dough looks smooth again. Mix in the dried cherries and chocolate chips.
Using an ice cream scoop or measuring cup with a ¼-cup capacity, scoop mounds of the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing the cookies at least 2½ inches apart. Bake the cookies one sheet at a time until the tops feel firm and look dull rather than shiny, about 22 minutes. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then use a wide metal spatula to transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
The cookies can be stored in a tightly covered container at room temperature for up to 4 days.