Inspired by the flavors of Michigan, these buttery Cherry Dark Chocolate Shortbread Cookies combine my favorite ingredients: fresh cherries and chocolate. Oh, and butter.
It’s been a minute since I’ve posted on here, hasn’t it? Although it wasn’t intentional, the break from the baking, photographing, and blogging turned out to be exactly what I needed.
If you’re out of the loop, let me take a second to update y’all. In April, I started a new 9-5 job in communications for a Denver-based food company. I’ll miss the flexibility of freelancing, but ya girl needs those benefits. So, I’ve spent the last 3 months or so working, freelancing after work, and embarking on plenty of Colorado hiking adventures (pictures to come soon in blog post form, hopefully). I have a few more adventures planned over the next month or so. I have to say though, this summer is slipping away FAST. All of a sudden, the Fourth of July came up out of nowhere and now Target already has their school supplies out. WHY.
Anyway, there’s still a fair amount of summer left, and I’ve been sitting on this seasonally appropriate recipe for a little while. Now I’m finally getting around to sharing it! Fresh Michigan cherries are a summer staple. And chocolate, of course, pairs perfectly with cherries and makes me think of snacking on Mackinac Island fudge on family vacations. Before you ask–no, I’m not homesick, but I do miss Michigan summers and all of the yummy food associated with them.
I hope you love these signature Mitten State flavors as much as I do!
How to Make Cherry Dark Chocolate Salted Shortbread Cookies
Basic Ingredients
- Butter
- Powdered sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Kosher salt
- Flour
- Dark (or semi-sweet) chocolate chunks – something like this will work great
- Fresh cherries
Some Helpful Tips
- I’ve made this recipe with both iodized salt and kosher salt, and found that kosher salt is superior in terms of taste and enhancing the flavor.
- Similarly, I’ve tried this recipe with both fresh and frozen cherries. Fresh cherries make the cookies much more flavorful.
- After chilling your dough, I recommend allowing it to sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes before slicing and baking. Doing so will allow the dough to soften slightly. Oppositely, you don’t want the dough to be too warm before baking or it will be difficult to slice.
- This is a great make-ahead cookie. You can definitely freeze your dough for several weeks before thawing and baking.
Cherry Dark Chocolate Salted Shortbread Cookies
Equipment
- Stand mixer
- Plastic wrap
- Sharp knife
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter (two sticks) room temperature
- 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar plus 2 TBSP
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup dark chocolate chunks chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh cherries pitted and chopped finely
Instructions
- In the bowl of your stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together on medium speed for 2-3 minutes. Next, add in the vanilla extract.
- Gradually add in your dry ingredients–the salt first, then followed by the flour.
- Carefully stir in the chopped cherries and chocolate chunks. I recommend using a wooden spoon for this.
- Dump dough onto rolled out plastic wrap (or parchment paper), and then roll into a log shape. The length and width doesn't matter that much, as it just depends on how big you want your cookies to be.
- Chill the wrapped dough log for 1-2 hours in the fridge.
- Remove the dough from the fridge and slice into 1/2 inch slices with a sharp knife. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, about 2 inches apart. The cookies won't spread too much when baked.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 12-14 minutes or until edges appear lightly golden brown.
