Thursday, December 25, 2008

Merry Christmas to all!!! And happy double chocolate cherry pistachio cookies!!!!

So I have been craving cherries and pistachios lately. So I bought a few bags of dried cherries and a huge bag of pistachios. Yum... Well, then I realized there was a heck of a lot of them and I remembered some double chocolate cherry cookies I saw on an Ultimate recipe showdown on Food Network. So I went searching... And found them! I made the recipe the way it was online, except I added a half cup of crushed pistachios and used a cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips instead of dark chocolate chunks. I checked out the reviews, and while there weren't many and they weren't all that great, I thought I'd try them anyways. I would definitely use a bit more flour next time.... And probably use a nice tart juice instead of red wine, if I use any other liquid at all. I had to bake them longer than the 10 minutes max. I took them out after 10 minutes, they flattened and after they cooled off, I tried to take them off and they fell apart... So I put them in longer.... They flattened out again but they came off the pan easily and they tasted great.

After they were completely cooled off, I kept them in an airtight container. The reason why I would probably not use red wine again was b/c even though they tasted great, every time I opened the container, red wine scent wafted from the container. I wasn't keen on that smell, which is why I didn't eat any after the first time I opened the container. So, yeah I'll probably sub that for some Pom or cherry juice or something.

The pistachios were a nice addition. Pistachios are my fav and they added a great crunch.

This was how they looked the first time I took them out of the oven, after about 5 or so minutes. I should have know they weren't done b/c they were still shiny.
The next picture was how they looked a few minutes after I took them out the second time. It looks like it might be pretty dry, but it def wasn't. Very moist for sure.


I took this next picture the next morning to see if they were still soft. They were. That was when I got hit w/ the strong wine odor.... I probably should have waited a bit longer to put them into the container. The ones on the bottom stuck together a bit. But then having to eat two cookies stuck together is so much better than just having one!

3 comments:

Ivy said...

I avoid baking from Social Networks as most recipes and not tried and tested. From experience I tell you that it is better to try recipes from bloggers, who are almost at a professional level. I am glad that you at least salvaged them. The new theme of your blog reminds me of the early months of blogging when I had this theme.
Happy Holidays and wishing you a happy new year. May all your dreams come true.

Cakespy said...

Well, they look amazing!! The idea of the red wine is interesting, too bad it didn't come across as you'd hoped!

NikiTheo said...

They were still decent, even with the wine. I think someone who likes red wine wouldn't mind it, but the smell killed me personally. I will definitely make them again, just used fruit juice next time.
:)