Cherry Ripe Cookies

The best thing about these cookies is how versatile they are. If you don’t like cherry ripe, then you can substitute it with anything you like such as crunchie, bounty, or plain old choc chip cookies.

I thought of this recipe because I was craving brownies but I didn’t have enough cocoa powder, and in the midst of COVID-19 we’re not meant to be going to the shops seven times a day, so I had to improvise. What could I do with 1/4 cup of cocoa that was still going to hit those chocolate cravings?

Mind you, I also didn’t have any chocolate chip cookies so I used some choc cherry bites I had bought back in December for a Christmas Gift that I never gave. It turned out like some indulgent Subway cookies, so it was a win overall.

This recipe can be made vegan by leaving out the egg.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup of cocoa powder
• 1 and 1/3 cups of plain flour (or all purpose flour)
• 1 cup white sugar – coarse
• 1 egg (small or medium works best)
• 2 tablespoons of Vanilla Essence
• 1 pinch of salt
• 2 spoons of vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup of butter – melted (I use olive butter which is vegan however you can use whatever butter you have)
• Filling of choice: I used cherry ripe and fresh blueberries but you can use what ever you like such as chocolate chips, Bounty, Lind etc.

Method

1. Pre-heat oven to 175 degrees Celcius (350 degrees F) and line a baking tray with parchment paper of a silicone oven safe mat
2. In a medium size bowl combine the following:
   • Cocoa powder
   • White sugar
   • Butter
   • Vegetable Oil
3. Combine these well and add in the egg, pinch of salt and vanilla essence
4. Sift in the flour (optional: You can add baking powder)
5. Stir all your ingredients till they are well combined and add in your filling of choice. I added in finely diced cherry ripe chocolate bites to the batter
6. Optional: I halved the batter at this stage, and added in fresh blueberries to the other half of the batter
7. Scoop 1-2 tablespoons of dough onto the baking sheets – you can press them down for thicker cookies or leave them as a ball for thicker cookies. I prefer mine thin to I pushed the dough down with a spoon
8. Bake in the preheated oven for 12 minutes – the cookies will come out soft after 12 minutes but they are cooked, leave them to rest on a cooling tray or plate for another 10 minutes and you can see then harden up.