Chocolate Chipcherry Chunk Cookies

Grandma’s wooden recipe box was jammed with secret family recipes, all written in her looping cursive.

Prep: 30 min.

Bake: 10 min./batch + cooling Makes: about 4 dozen

1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp. butter, softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar 1 large egg, room temperature 1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. maple flavoring

11/2 cups all-purpose flour

5 tsp. baking cocoa

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips 1 cup white baking chips

1/2 cup dried cherries or dried cranberries 1/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Cream butter, gradually adding sugars, until light and fluffy. Slowly beat in egg, vanilla and maple flavoring.

2. In another bowl, sift together flour, baking cocoa, baking soda and salt. Gradually beat into creamed mixture just until moistened (do not overbeat). Stir in semisweet chocolate and white baking chips, cherries and coconut.

3. Drop dough by tablespoonfuls 2 in. apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Flatten slightly and bake until golden brown, 10-12 minutes. Cool on pans 5 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Per cookie: 104 cal., 5g fat (3g sat. fat), 13mg chol., 54mg sod., 14g carb. (10g sugars, 0 fiber), 1g pro.

Wade Rouse is the author of four novels, including his latest, The Recipe Box, which features this recipe and other treasured desserts. Rouse writes under his grandmother’s name, Viola Shipman.