Author Notes
I have been toying with the idea of mixing prunes and dark chocolate in desserts. I like both flavors and sometimes find myself in my pantry looking for a snack, and I grab a moist delicious pitted prune and a square of dark chocolate. Who would have thought these would combine to make a great cookie?
Since I was going down this road, I decided that the cookies needed to be unusual with a subtle surprising twist. Cardamom added an exotic touch and complimented both the prunes and chocolate. I used a good dark chocolate from Trader Joe’s, which I chopped into chunks. The pitted prunes were really moist and the walnuts added a bit of crunch. The flavors came together into a very unique soft chewy cookie.
All of my taste testers loved these cookies. The really good news is that the recipe makes approximately 6 dozen cookies. I made them ahead and wrapped them, 2 cookies together, and stored in the freezer. Did I mention I really love to have homemade cookies in my freezer, just in case of out-of-town company? —At Home with Friends
Ingredients
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4 1/2 ounces
chopped dark chocolate (You could use chocolate chips. You’ll still get a good cookie, just more like chocolate chip cookies with add-ins.)
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1 1/2 cups
chopped prunes
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1 cup
chopped walnuts
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2 cups
brown sugar, packed
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1 cup
unsalted butter, room temperature
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2
large eggs
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1 teaspoon
vanilla
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1 teaspoon
cardamom
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1 teaspoon
baking soda
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1/2 teaspoon
salt
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3 cups
flour
Directions
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A NOTE: The prunes need to be moist. If yours are hard and dried out, rehydrate for 10 minutes in 1 cup of warm water. Thoroughly drain prunes and proceed with recipe.
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
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Mix flour, baking soda, salt and cardamom together and set aside. Coarsely chop chocolate, prunes and walnuts and set aside in a bowl.
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In stand mixer, using padded attachment, mix butter and sugar until well blended. Add eggs and mix well. Add vanilla. Add dry ingredients and mix well.
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Remove bowl from mixer stand and hand mix in chocolate, prune, walnut mixture. Using a small ice cream scoop, drop by spoonfuls onto parchment lined baking sheet.
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Bake 10-12 minutes. Remove from cookie sheet and cool on rack.
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