Yet another rainy day.  Kinda dreary.  I don’t really feel like doing anything.  I may just sit in front of the TV and eat the rest of these cookies I made yesterday.  I used the Cherry Cordial M&M’s that were out during the Christmas season.  They taste exactly like the Cherry M&M’s I used last year to make my Dark Chocolate Cherry M&M Cookies.  Although I haven’t look for the Cherry ones this year, I know they are usually out for Valentine’s day.  So either one you use is good.  But you gotta have the cherry flavor in there.

When I was scouring the web for a soft, chewy chocolate cookie recipe to use with these Cherry Cordial M&M’s, I came upon this recipe for Soft and Chewy Brownie Cookies from Averie Cooks.  Averie has some fabulous cookie recipes and her food photography always leaves me drooling.

Now I know she says not to use chocolate chips in this recipe because they do not melt well in the microwave, but I used Ghirardelli Baking Chips which I already know melt very well in the microwave.  And they taste amazing.  Since I needed 12 oz. of chocolate and the baking chips come in a 10 oz. bag, I added some mini chocolate chips to make up the difference and bridge the way between the dark chocolate baking chips and the milk chocolate M&M’s.  What intrigued me about this recipe besides the minimal amount of flour, was the fact that you need to leave the batter out at room temperature for 1-2 hours prior to baking.  I though this was odd.  Usually you put it in the fridge.  But, hey, I am always up for something new.  I left the covered batter out for about 1 1/2 hours to set.

The result is a batter that has the consistency of a very thick mousse.  If it hadn’t been for the raw eggs, I would have stuck me head in the bowl and devoured the batter raw.  It’s unlike any batter I have worked with before.  I did take a tiny taste and it was INCREDIBLE!  I couldn’t wait to bake it.  You can just scoop it onto a cookie sheet and gently press in the M&M’s.  I choose to make them into heart shapes.  I drop an almost full large scoop of the dough into each cavity of my Wilton Heart Shaped Whoopie Pie Pan.  The same one I used for my Sugar Cookie Rice Krispie Treats.  The round shaped whoopie pie pan works just as well.  I just flattened out the dough with a spatula to fit the shape and gently pressed in the Cherry Cordial M&M’s

You have to let the cookies cool completely before trying to remove them from the pan or they will fall apart on you (and you will have to eat them).  I think I may have overfilled my pan a bit, but they still came out heart shaped.  I tasted one while is was still warm and the gooey chocolate was to die for. 

Once cooled, the cookies have a slightly crispy outside with a soft, chewy inside just like a brownie.  Since I used the baking chips which are larger than regular chocolate chips, you also get some nice chunks of dark chocolate when you bite into the cookie.  The Cherry Cordial M&M’s just heighten the chocolate experience.  I may try just mixing them right in the batter next time to add even more cherry flavor.

I have never made brownies from scratch before, never mind brownie cookies.  I am so excited they came out right.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Cherry Cordial Brownie Cookies

by The Sweet Chick

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Keywords: bake dessert snack dark chocolate Cherry Cordial M&M’s brownies cookie American

Ingredients (15 cookies)

• 1 bag (10 oz.) Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate baking chips, divided
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 large eggs
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
• 1 bag (9.90 oz.) Cherry Cordial or Cherry M&M’s

Instructions

Place 5 oz. of the Ghirardelli baking chips in a small microwave safe bowl or measuring cup with the butter. Microwave at 30 second intervals until completely melted and smooth when stirred. Set aside to cool.

In a stand mixer add eggs, sugar and vanilla. Mix on medium for about 8 minutes or until mixture is a pale, creamy texture.

Add the flour, baking powder, melted chocolate, remaining 5 oz. of baking chips, and the mini chocolate chips to the egg mixture. Mix on medium for about 1 minute until fully combined.

Remove bowl from mixer, cover with plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature for about 1 hour until set. (The consistency should be that of a very thick mousse after set.)

Once mixture is set, preheat oven to 350°F.

With a large scoop (a little less than full), fill each cavity of the whoopie pie pan. With a spatula, spread the batter out to fill the shape of the cavity.

Gently press 3-5 M&M’s into each shape.

Bake for 10 minutes each batch. Do not remove from pan. Leave in pan until completely cooled, then gently remove with a clean spatula.

Grab yourself a cup of coffee or milk and sit down with your cookie. You are going to want to savor each minute of this dark chocolate and cherry bliss!

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