Chocolate Cherry Heart Smart Cookies

CHOCOLATE CHERRY HEART SMART COOKIES

Oh my, these are YUMMY!!!!!

In case y'all haven't figured out yet, I am a recipe junkie. I love cookbooks, and cooking magazines. LOVE THEM. LOVE THEM. LOVE THEM. Love to read all about food, cooking, and anything of the like. I waste hours every day lost on the internet looking at food blogs and food sites. I will never get that time back. So...........as I was looking (like a fiend)
through my last issue of Cooking Light (yes I DO read Cooking Light), I found a recipe that I could NOT pass up. A Smart Cookie? Are you kidding me? Everybody MUST know about this!!!! Heart Smart??? Oh, yes! Just in time for Valentines Day.




This is what you will need. Of course, you will also need need baking soda. Wasn't that extremely smart of me to catch it right off the bat this time? I am Super Smart!!!!


Also, I feel compelled to tell ya right now, that my photography is getting so much better that I took LOTS OF PICS!!!

Well, look at that! Here I am putting the whole wheat flour into a big mixing bowl!


and here I am again......pouring the all purpose flour in.

Oh......this is a good one. It's me pouring in the oats.




How exciting is this one? It's the flours and oats all mixed up in one pic.




OH! Look at this one! It's that stick of butter, right before I melt it and throw some sugar to it.






Mmm Mmm Mmmmm

3/4 cup of light brown sugar mixed with 6 Tablespoons of melted butter










Til it's all nice and smooth like this.......

Pour that buttery sugar into the bowl of flour and oatmeal.

If your lucky enough, you have a beautiful little girl to mix it up. Like this....

Of course, I could have used my Kitchenaid, but I didn't really feel like dragging it out when my Kaylee was MORE than willing to help.

The cherries. This is when you throw the cherries in.

If you are really paying attention, you can see my injured thumb from my first post ever. This is also when you will most likely learn that I am a nail biter.

Nasty habit. I must stop.

The vanilla. Told ya I was getting better with my photography skills.

The egg. Slighlty beaten.

The egg again.........being poured into the cookie mixture.

Mixed all up til it looks like this.

3 ounces of bittersweet chocolate. Roughly chopped.

like this.

Me. Throwing the chopped chocolate into the bowl, and GENTLY folding it in.

Kaylee-girl trying soooooo hard to drop them onto the cookie sheet (by tablespoons)

This is where you will notice a cabinet that is open on the bottom right of the pic. This is a toddlers cabinet. Jackson's to be exact. The rest of the cabinets have locks on them, thanks to my daddy, or Pa as the kids call him. Or Ba as Jackson calls him. Anywhoo, he put the locks on the cabinets. Jackson now tells me that all the cabinets are "tuck". This means "stuck" in Jacksoneese. I would NOT be surprised if you also notice that my kitchen is incredibly small. It really is. And white. And off-white. This is why a new kitchen is in the plans. Also, I have all kinds of new Christmas presents that haven't found a proper home yet.

And.......................I have Oak Islanditis...................

and again...........

into the oven they go...............

OMG! Warm, delicious and all melty chocolatey!!!!!

Kaylee says, "Eat these! They are yummy!!!"

As I explained earlier I am a recipe FIEND! I would like to that Cooking Light and one of their contest winners, Marcie Dixon.

1/3 cup all -purpose flour

1/3 cup whole-wheat flour

1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1 tsp baking soda (not pictured)

1/2 tsp salt

6 Tbsp unsalted butter

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1 cup dried cherries

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 large egg, lightly beaten

3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsly chopped

cooking spray

1. 1. Preheat oven to 350

2. Combine 3 flours and next 3 ingredients in large bowl; stir with a whisk


3. Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat, and add brown sugar, stirring until smooth. Add sugar mixture to flour mixture. Beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended.

Add cherries, vanilla, and egg; beat until combined. Fold in chocolate. Drop by tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto baking sheets coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 for 12 minutes. Cool on pans 3 minutes or until almost firm. Remove to wire racks..... Believe me, I totally skipped this part. They were so delicious.

The End.