Drop Cookies: Chocolate Cherry Blasts

If we're making cookies, we usually pick something quick and easy. Something without too many steps. Chocolate Chip. Date Drops. Sometimes even Sugar Cookies. But sometimes, just sometimes, we want something a little fancier. Chocolate Cherry Blasts, which feature both marshmallows and cherries, are fun and not too difficult to make.


Just make sure you move fast when you're placing the marshmallows. The cookies can't cool down during this crucial step.


Ingredients


¾ cup sugar
¼ cup firmly packed brown sugar
½ cup butter or margarine, softened
½ tsp almond extract (optional)
1 egg
1¾ cups all purpose flour
½ cup cocoa
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
½ cup milk
½ cup walnuts, chopped
12-16 maraschino cherries
12-16 large marshmallows


Glaze
1½ cups powdered sugar
1½ tbsp butter, melted
½ tsp vanilla
½ cup chocolate chips, melted
3-5 tbsp water


Preparation


Heat oven to 375°F. Cream together the sugars (not the sugar for the glaze) and butter with an electric mixer. Add almond extract and egg. Mix well. Using a spoon, mix in flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt, and milk. Blend thoroughly until a soft dough forms. Fold in walnuts gently.


Drop dough by rounded tablespoons onto prepared cookie sheet. Flatten, but only slightly. Drain the maraschino cherries, then cut then in half. Place one half of one cherry on top of each cookie. Press in place, but not too hard. Bake for 8 minutes. While the cookies are baking, cut the marshmallows in half.


Working quickly, take the cookies out of the oven and press one marshmallow half on top of each cherry. Press firmly, but not too hard. You don't want to squish the cookies. Return to the oven for 3 minutes, or until the marshmallows are puffed.


Remove from cookie sheets immediately and cool completely on wire racks. Use a whisk to blend the glaze ingredients, making sure your glaze is smooth and easy to spread. Add the water only a little at a time, and only until you have a glaze you're happy with. Brush the glaze over the cooled cookies, covering the marshmallows completely. This step is important. If the marshmallow isn't completely covered, it will harden and make the cookies unappealing. Cover the marshmallow well.


Allow the glaze to dry, then store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.