by Katherine Deumling of Cook With What You Have
These are the quickest and one of the most satisfying cookies I know. I vary these each time I make them. Sometimes I use whole-wheat pastry flour, sometimes spelt, and sometimes just all-purpose flour. Around the holidays I use golden raisins and candied orange peel, and other times I use dried cherries or apricots. I even vary the amounts of cocoa a bit. And sometimes I stir a few tablespoons of orange marmalade or other jam instead of the dried fruit.
So if you have 20 minutes (that includes the baking time!), some cocoa, and a few other pantry basics on hand, you can have your chocolate/cookie fix or a gift in no time.
You can mix these incredibly easy, fudgy cookies right in the saucepan.
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, spelt or whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons butter
6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1/2 cup granulated sugar or coconut sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar or coconut sugar*
Generous 1/3 cup plain, whole-milk yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cups dried fruit or 1/3 cup jam (see headnote) (half and half chopped golden raisins and candied orange peel is my holiday favorite as dried sour cherries or cranberries
*I forgot to add the brown sugar recently and they turned out really well. So if you’re tempted to reduce the sugar, go for it!
Preheat oven to 350°. Combine flour, soda, and salt and set aside. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat; stir in cocoa powder and sugars. Add yogurt and vanilla, stirring to combine. Add flour mixture, stirring until just mixed. Add any dried, fruit nuts, and/or jam. If adding jam, just gently swirl it through the batter, don’t evenly mix it in or it will get a bit lost in the final cookies.
Drop level tablespoons 1 inch apart onto baking sheets or use a #40 cookie scoop (3/4 oz). Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until almost set. Don’t overbake – err on the side of underdone if you like moist, chewy cookies. They will firm up as they cool. Cool on pans 2 to 3 minutes or until firm. Remove cookies from pans; cool on wire racks.
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