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Almost a boomchunka…just add cherries

triple chocolate, oatmeal pecan cookies...all they need is cherries

Several years ago we vacationed in the small northern Michigan town of Glen Arbor. Dexter suggested this destination because it’s the home of The Cherry Republic…in other words, all things cherry. Cherry Republic’s slogan is “life liberty, beaches, and pie” and who can fight with that…actually it sounds like my idea of heaven. It was a delightful get-away with a fabulous, almost pacific-like beach, a good resort, huge dunes for climbing and hiking, and the best cherry pie I’d ever had until I made my own this summer. Other delightful cherry offerings included a cherry ice cream that practically sparkled, a fabulous cherry soda, and my favorite boomchunka cookies. GH and I both adored these cookies and the boys didn’t (more for us). I’ve often contemplated those cookies, their possible ingredients, composition, texture…every aspect lives large in my memory and yet I’ve never attempted to recreate their deliciousness. The were dense, loaded with chocolate, nuts, and cherries, and they were toothsome…not crunchy and not chewy…but just right in between the two.

Yesterday I asked Dexter to choose a cookie recipe from Dorie Greenspan’s book, Baking: From My Home To Yoursand he proceeded to mark at least a dozen recipes with post-its. So after taking it under advisement that he really wanted the Chocolate Malted Whopper Drops I decided to go with the chocolate oatmeal drops…I just don’t find whoppers appealing.

triple chocolate, oatmeal pecan cookies...all they need is cherries

After reading over the recipe I realized that with a few changes I might actually get lucky and have a boomchunka…and so I started changing the recipe, making notations in the margin and getting more excited as I moved along. Then …drat, drat, double drat…I’m out of dried cherries! I went ahead and made them without the cherries…knowing that they’d be good, but just not exactly right.

I can’t wait to get some dried cherries because these cookies are awesome! They’ve got it all…density, chocolate….oh yeah, they’ve got chocolate three ways, pecans, oats, and that fine quality I call toothsomeness…not crunchy, not chewy…just right. Given our flawless geek logic we’ve figured that these cookies are actually good for us…you know…oats, pecans, chocolate…antioxidants and fiber…they must be good for us. Plus they’re perfect with coffee…oh yes, these are complex, dark, adult cookies…kids tend to shun them for their oaty goodness. So I’ll buy the cherries and add a cup and I’ll report back on the results. In the meantime here’s the recipe:

Triple Chocolate Boomchunkas
adapted from Baking: From My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan

2 sticks of butter
9 ounces bittersweet chocolate
2 eggs
¾ cup white sugar
¾ cup dark brown sugar
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup cocoa
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 ½ cup old fashioned rolled oats
1 cup semisweet chocolate morsels
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
1 cup dried cherries

Preheat oven to 350°. Line a baking sheet with parchment or use a silicone mat.

Place the butter and bittersweet chocolate chunks into a medium sized microwave-safe bowl and microwave on level 7 for 2 minutes. Remove the bowl from the microwave and stir the butter and chocolate until they emulsify and come together. Add the brown and white sugars and stir well to combine. Add the eggs and stir well to combine.

Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Add the butter/chocolate mixture to this and stir well to combine. Add the semisweet chocolate morsels, pecans, oats, and cherries. Stir to combine.

Using an ice cream scoop place 6 mounds of dough on the prepared cookie sheet. Each mound should have about 1/3 cup of dough. Using the palm of your hand flatten the mounds out so that they are about 1/2” to ¾” thick and a circle shape. Bake for about 12 minutes in convection oven, 15 minutes in a standard oven. Adjust cook times for your own oven.

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August 16, 2007 | Filed Under baking, chocolate, cookie, food, fruit and nuts, recipe, sweets 

comments

9 Responses to “Almost a boomchunka…just add cherries”

  1. JEP on August 16th, 2007

    This cookie recipe is calling my name—all the ingredients are on my favorite list—let us know how they bake-up!

  2. Meg in North AL on August 16th, 2007

    Mmmm… you make me miss my Midwestern home. I love Lake Michigan, and Glen Arbor is a neat place to vacation. Those cookies are on my weekend project list!

  3. andreea on August 17th, 2007

    oh cherries and chocolate – a combo made in heaven. i just used some in brownies and they were delicious

  4. Hillary on August 17th, 2007

    While these already look and sound amazing, cherries and chocolate ARE a power combo! I saw cherry brownies on some other food blog the other day…I almost fell out of my chair. Great recipe!

  5. marye on August 17th, 2007

    oh..yum! There is nothing like Michigan cherries..unless it is Michigan muskmelon.

  6. Valli on August 17th, 2007

    These cookies look so awesome…who needs the cherries. They are a triple chocolate threat to my thighs!!!!

  7. Patricia Scarpin on August 20th, 2007

    I love the name and they look decadent!

  8. hannah on November 6th, 2007

    I have too give a demonstration speech for my speech class and I decided to do: how to make the one and only boomchunka cookie. When I was visiting northern michigan I experienced the amazingness of them and have since been recreating them. YUMM!

  9. vanessa on November 7th, 2007

    You’ve all been so sweet with the compliments. I’ve made these several times since this was posted and they are my favorites. I gave away 2 batches at the farmers’ market last week and I think they were a big hit.

    HannahBanana…you go girl!

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