Chocolate covered cherry cookies

You know how sometimes things were just meant to be? Well, these cookies is a good example of that. I had half a can of leftover sweetened condensed milk and didn't want to waste it, so I researched some recipes that would use up the remaining can. Most people said to just eat it up with a spoon, but I didn't want to do it (at least not this time).

I stumbled across a Cooking Light forum and saw that one of the posters shared a recipe that was popular on that particular board. It was for chocolate covered cherry cookies, and it just happened to use half a can of sweetened condensed milk. Yes, this recipe was just meant to be.

Holy cow were these cookies good! My favorite part was the chocolate cherry glaze that covered the maraschino cherries. I only spooned about a teaspoon over the cookies before they baked. Once the cookies came out of the oven, I spooned the leftover glaze over each cookie. Don't tell anybody, but I ate the remaining glaze with a spoon...!

Chocolate covered cherry cookies

• 1 and 1/2 cups all purpose flour 
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 
• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar 
• 1/4 tsp salt 
• 1/4 tsp baking powder 
• 1/4 tsp baking soda 
• 1 egg 
• 1 and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 18 undrained maraschino cherries (about one 10-oz jar) 
• 1 (one) 6-oz pkg semisweet chocolate pieces 
• 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk 

Directions
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

In a small mixing bowl combine flour and cocoa; set aside.

In bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer), beat the butter on medium to high speed about 30 seconds or till softened. Add the sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda and mix until well combined. Add egg and vanilla and beat well. Turn the mixer to low and gradually add in the flour/cocoa mixture until it is fully incorporated.

Turn off the mixer and shape the dough into 1-inch balls. Place them on an ungreased baking sheet (I used my imitation Silpat). Using your thumb, make an identation in the center of each ball so you have a well.

Drain the maraschino cherries and reserve the juice. Put a cherry in the center of each cookie's well. In a small saucepan set over low heat, combine the chocolate pieces and sweetened condensed milk until the chocolate is completely melted. Mix in 4 teaspoons of the reserved cherry juice.

Spoon about 1 teaspoon of the frosting over each cherry, ensuring that each cherry is fully covered in the frosting. If needed, you can thin out the frosting using any remaining cherry juice.

Bake cookies in your preheated oven for about 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool completely before serving.

Yield: I used a medium cookie scoop and got 18 cookies

Source: Cooking Light forum; originally from the January 1997 edition of Better Homes and Gardens