Best Cookies to Make for Valentine’s Day

This is an older post that definitely needs to be published!  I am a HUGE cookie lover and these Chocolate Chunk Chewy Cookies with M&M’S® and dried cherries are the perfect treat to make and give for Valentine’s Day.

My good friend, Lisa, made these sinful chocolate chunk cookies, half with dried cherries and the other half with Valentine colored M&M’S^®..   for the blog several years ago and they were a hit!

The Combination of Chocolate and Dried Cherries is So Good!

I actually can’t decide which cookie I prefer; I loved how the sweetness and chewy texture of the cherries blended with the chocolate and the M&M’S^® are more chocolate with a crunch.  YUM!!!!  

After the cookies cooled, I placed one of each cookie in a cellophane treat bag that I folded in half.  I used a single whole punch to make two holes through the bag and paper heart, threaded a piece of ribbon and tied a bow.  I have a bunch of wooden stamps that are fun to use for the gift tags. If you don’t have a ink stamp you can write a love note with a colored pen. A perfect sweet treat for Valentine’s Day!  

 If you want some other fun ideas for Valentine’s Day check out this delicious brunch recipe, this DIY tablescape, shop for fun gifts!

Chocolate Chunk Chewy Cookies with Dried Cherries or M&M’S®

• Author: Lisa adapted the recipe from Martha Stewart
• Yield: 40 1x

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Ingredients

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• 3 ½ cups all purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 ½ tsp salt
• 3 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 cups packed light brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 12 oz semi sweet chocolate, chopped coarsely (2 ½ cups)
• dried cherries (1 ½ cups) – you may need more or less depending on your preference
• colored M&M’S® (1 ½ cups) – you may need more or less depending on your preference

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Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350℉
2. Place the flour, baking soda, salt in a bowl and whisk to combine
3. In a mixer, beat butter and sugars until pale and fluffy.
4. Add the eggs one at a time and beat to combine.
5. Add vanilla, then the flour mixture and finally mix in chocolate.
6. If making all cherry cookies: add dried cherries to dough and refrigerate 1 hour (go to #9)
7. If making all M&M’S® cookies *: refrigerate dough (go to #9)
8. If making two kinds of cookies: separate dough into into two bowls. Mix dried cherries into one bowl of dough and leave the other dough plain for now – refrigerate both bowls of dough for 1 hour.
9. Remove Dough from refrigerator,
10. Scoop dough with a 1 3/4″ ice cream scoop and arrange on a cookie sheet lined in parchment paper.
11. Flatten dough balls with flat side of the spatula. Add M&M’S® around dough
12. Bake for 8-10 minutes – when edges are golden brown
13. Cool on sheets set on wire racks for 10 minutes
14. Transfer cookies to racks and cool completely

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Notes

*Lisa’s Note: Do not mix the M&M’S® into the batter. Scoop out the batter and place on the cookie sheet. Using the back of a spatula flatten the batter down and then place the M&M’S® around the dough. That way the colors pop and look cute!

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