Week #2 Tart Cherry Bake-Off and Contest

Welcome to week two of the tart cherry cook and bake-off sponsored by the Ontario
Tender Fruit Producers. You, our members, are in the judge’s seat as you
decide who has done the best job with this recipes featuring
tart cherry products. Read
both Gav’s and Carol’s recipe reviews and compare the pictures of their
final product! Let us know who did it best by commenting below and
you’ll earn a second ballot for a Kitchen Aid® Stand Mixer courtesy of the
Ontario Tender Fruit Producers!

This week’s recipe is oatmeal cherry cookies.

Oatmeal Cherry Cookies

Adapted from choosecherries.com

Makes: 4 dozen cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups quick cooking oats, uncooked
1 1/2 cups dried tart cherries
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Preparation:

1.    Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2.    Put margarine, brown sugar and granulated sugar ina large mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed 3 to 4 minutes, or until creamy.
3.    Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; if desired; add to egg mixture. Stir in oats, cherries and chocolate chips; mix well.
4.    Drop rounded tablespoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in oven 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool 1 minute on cookie sheet; remove to wire rack to cool completely. Store in a tightly covered container.

Carol:

While I may do a LOT of cooking, it is definitely not a passion of mine.  My true heart lies in baking.  I could literally bake and bake all day long…and have.  I love making cookies, cakes, pies, muffins, and, of course, squares.  I understand that squares are actually more popular in Canada than they are in US.  What can be more Canadian than a Nainamo square, eh?  And more delicious?  Yum!

When I was asked to bake with Tart Cherries I leapt at the chance.  How lucky am I to be working on a project that doesn’t feel like work at all.  You want to know the best part about my assignment…I get to eat the final product.

For our second Tart Cherry recipe were asked to bake oatmeal cherry cookies.  Finally! I feel like I’m on a level playing field with Chef Dad.  You may remember how nervous I was after learning that I was competing against Chef Dad.  Well, we had a conversation a few weeks back in which he revealed how much he hates baking.  I stored this comment in my memory and I am relishing in it now.  But before I start celebrating my imminent triumph I wonder if Chef Dad is really a bad baker, or rather does he simply hate baking?  After reading Gav’s posts: Carb Your Enthusiasm, I’m thinking the latter.  In this fantastic post Gav bakes the most mouthwateringly delicious meat-stuffed breads…not a good baker indeed!  Again, only time will tell, and only YOU will judge who ultimately did a better job.

Let me start off my saying the oatmeal cherry cookies were simple to make.  It’s really a very straightforward recipe that starts by creaming together the butter and sugars then incorporating the eggs and dry ingredients.  The twist on this oatmeal cookie is the paring of Tart Cherries and semi-sweet chocolate, a match that I can attest to being one made in heaven.  The cherries provide a tart contrast to the sweetness of the cookie dough and chocolate.  The cookies have a fantastic texture; both soft and chewy and further enhanced by the cherries themselves.  Try replacing the semi sweet chocolate with white chocolate and you will make a fantastic holiday cookie.  The red of the cherries will stand out!

The lowdown: My husband loved these cookies! Do I sound surprised? Actually, I am! My husband is not a cookie lover. How ironic, I love to bake and married a man that doesn’t love baking. So what was it about these cookies that he enjoyed? He explained that they are unique and interesting, not the same ho hum chocolate chip cookies. And what did my children think? The girls gave it two thumbs up. In fact, they actually helped me prepare the cookies. It is definitely a kid-friendly recipe. So, invite your kids into the kitchen and have them help you prepare a batch of these great cookies, they are fun to bake and fun to eat. Enjoy!

Gav:

Oatmeal cookies are one of my favourite snacks. So, any recipe that looks to improve on this classic is a-OK with me. I originally had a bit of concern when I heard that this recipe used cherries in place of the traditional raisins, but I think that’s because I had this preconceived notion that dried cherries were all uber-sweet maraschino cherries.

When I got my hands on some dried tart cherries, I was so pleasantly surprised. The cherries have a beautiful tartness to them that is addictively good. I find myself snacking on them right out of the jar.

I changed this recipe up a little bit and opted for some white chocolate chips instead of the suggested semi-sweet chocolate. Aside from the great contrast in colour, the cherries played so well off of the sweetness of the white chocolate.

I also really liked how the cherries really caught everyone’s attention when they bit into them. The festive looking cookies are really a unique and delicious take on a classic.