For the whole one day that I managed to stay out of town last week, the girls happened to be out of school. We are *ahem* fortunate *ahem* to live in a school district that hasn't figured out Christopher Columbus belongs in the bad place, so Alexis was in charge of Mila for a few hours without an adult.
Simmer down, those of you who think that's a problem. You've clearly not met Alexis. She's more mature and trustworthy than most adults. Certainly more so than me. Mila, while she is a NUT, is more likely to get Alexis' full attention than any other human on this planet. It's all good. I swear. (And they have adult backup with two neighbors and I have magical camera abilities soooooooo ... )
ANYWAY.
Their idea of getting "wild and crazy" is to have a Tag Team dance party while making cookies. I'm not exaggerating. That's literally what they do. Mila was shaking her booty when I "dropped in" on them during a break. At the same time, Alexis was tossing dried fruit into some chocolate cookies because that's her current favorite thing - Chocolate cookies with chocolate chunks and any sort of dried fruit. Last week it was mango, this week she went with cherries. Pineapple is also a winner, as are peaches.
She's a genius, that kid.
Double Chocolate Cherry Cookies
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup water
1 bag chocolate chunks (not chips - look for the chunkier stuff in the same type of bag)
2 cups dried cherries (or whatever dried fruit)
1. Preheat the oven to 375°. Line two cookies sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter until creamy. Add the sugars and beat some more.
3. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda.
4. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the most ingredients while mixing. Add the egg, vanilla, and water and beat until smooth.
5. Stir in the chocolate chunks and dried cherries.
6. Form the cookie dough into balls and place a few inches apart on the cookie sheets. Alexis makes GIANT cookies by forming balls the size of her fist, but I prefer something around an 1" ball.
7. Bake at 375° for 8 to 10 minutes or until the tops no longer look shiny. The edges should be a bit firm while the cookies are still soft.