Cherry Garcia Cookies

I was craving ice cream and cookies one night. Instead, I ate some dried cherries (a little more healthy). The idea to make cookies with them came to mind and this is what I found. I tweaked it a bit, adding more semisweet chocolate chips and reducing the white chocolate ones. They came out really well.

Cherry Garcia Cookies

Ingredients:
• 1 cup dried cherries
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1-1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup granulated white sugar
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar, (packed)
• 1 egg
• 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup coarsely-chopped macadamia nuts

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Place dried cherries in a bowl soak in cherry liqueur overnight. Or, you can cover them with boiling water. Let sit 30 minutes to plump up. Drain well, pat dry, and coarsely chop.

Whisk together salt, baking soda, and flour in a small bowl. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together butter, white sugar, and brown sugar. Beat in egg, vanilla, and almond extract. Add flour mixture to butter mixture half at a time and mix until combined. Fold in cherries, white chocolate chips, semi-sweet chocolate chips, and macadamia nuts. Refrigerate cookie dough 30 to 45 minutes to firm up.

Drop dough by the tablespoon onto prepared baking sheets, placing cookies about 1-1/2 to 2 inches apart. Bake 12 to 14 minutes until lightly browned around the edges. Cool 10 minutes on cookie sheets before removing to racks to cool completely. Store in a covered container.