Chocolate Cherry Cordial Cookies

Personally, I'm not a big fan of chocolate cookies. In fact, I'm not a big fan of most things chocolate flavored. I love real chocolate, or anything fudgy chocolatey like fudgy brownies or icing. But stuff like chocolate cake or chocolate ice cream or cookies, I've just never been a big fan. But regardless of whether or not I would eat them, I decided these were a great holiday cookie.
They remind me of cherry cordials, with the cherry inside and fudgy icing on top. And even though they weren't my favorite, I still thought they were good, and everyone else seemed to love them!
I brought quite a few into work and they were certainly one of the first cookies gone.
Make sure you don't over bake these cookies, you want them to stay nice and soft on the inside. And make sure they cool completely before adding the frosting. Also, this recipe makes quite a few cookies, so make sure you get enough cherries to fill them all!
(Pre-frosting)
Chocolate Cherry Cordial Cookies
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 (6 ounce) jars maraschino cherries, well drained
1 (6 ounce) package semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 (14 ounce) can Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, bear butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well.

2. In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients; stir into butter mixture (dough will be stiff). Shape into 1-inch balls. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets. Press cherry into center of each cookie. Bake 8 to 10 minutes. Cool. *To make these cookies fabulous make sure to not make them too big so the cherry/chocolate ration is good and do not overbake! Start with 8 minutes. Remove from pan right after they come out of the oven.

3. In heavy saucepan over medium heat, melt chips with condensed milk. Cook until mixture thickens, about 3 minutes. Frost each cookie, covering cherry. Store loosely covered at room temperature.

Source:The Girl Who Ate Everything
Photos by Keegan Orange