The sweet and tart flavour of dried cherries combines beautifully with smoky dark chocolate in these big and chewy oatmeal cookies. If you can’t find dried sour cherries, cranberries are a great substitute. I used 70% cocoa dark chocolate to make these cookies — but you can use any good quality dark chocolate in this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup salted butter, softened
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp molasses
•  2 1/2 cups oats (I use Quaker Quick Oats)
• 1 cup shredded sweetened coconut
• 1 cup good quality dark chocolate, chopped (dark chocolate chips work well too)
• 1 cup dried sour cherries

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350F and spray baking sheets with non-stick spray.
2. In a bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, corn starch and salt.
3. Using an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar.
4. Add the eggs, vanilla and molasses.  Mix until combined.
5. Turn the mixer to low and slowly add the flour mixture.  Beat until fully incorporated.
6. Add the oats, coconut, chocolate and cherries.
7. Roll generous 1/4 cup measures of dough into balls (you can use a medium sized ice cream scoop for this.) Place two inches apart on prepared baking sheets.
8. Bake for 15-17 minutes.

*Yield: Approximately 18 large cookies