I have been toying with the idea of mixing prunes and dark chocolate in desserts.

I like both flavors and sometimes find myself in my pantry looking for a snack, and I grab a moist delicious pitted prune and a square of dark chocolate. Who would have thought these would combine to make a great cookie?

Since I was going down this road, I decided that the cookies needed to be unusual with a subtle surprising twist. Cardamom added an exotic touch and complimented both the prunes and chocolate.

I used a good dark chocolate from Trader Joe’s, which I chopped into chunks. The pitted prunes were really moist and the walnuts added a bit of crunch. The flavors came together into a very unique soft chewy cookie.

All of my taste testers loved these cookies. The really good news is that the recipe makes approximately 6 dozen cookies. I made them ahead and wrapped them, 2 cookies together, and stored in the freezer.

Did I mention I really love to have homemade cookies in my freezer, just in case of out-of-town company?

Coarsely chop chocolate, prunes and walnuts and set aside in a bowl.

Add dry ingredients and mix well.

Using a small ice cream scoop, drop by spoonfuls onto parchment lined baking sheet.

Mix in chocolate, prune, walnut mixture by hand.

Bake 10-12 minutes. Remove from cookie sheet and cool on rack.

CHOCOLATE PRUNE CARDAMOM COOKIES

EVENT: Out-of-Town Company

YEILDS: 6 Dozen

Ingredients

4 ½ oz. chopped dark chocolate *

1 ½ cup chopped prunes **

1 cup chopped walnuts **

2 cups brown sugar, packed

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon cardamom

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

3 cups flour

Equipment

Small ice cream scoop

Baking sheets

Parchment paper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Mix flour, baking soda, salt and cardamom together and set aside.

3. Coarsely chop chocolate, prunes and walnuts and set aside in a bowl.

4. In stand mixer, using padded attachment, mix butter and sugar until well blended.

5. Add eggs and mix well. Add vanilla.

6. Add dry ingredients and mix well.

7. Remove bowl from mixer stand and hand mix in chocolate, prune, walnut mixture.

8. Using a small ice cream scoop, drop by spoonfuls onto parchment lined baking sheet.

9. Bake 10-12 minutes.

10. Remove from cookie sheet and cool on rack.

* A NOTE: You could use chocolate chips but I didn’t. You’ll still get a good cookie, just more like chocolate chip cookies with add-ins.

** A NOTE: The prunes need to be moist. If yours are hard and dried out, rehydrate for 10 minutes in 1 cup of warm water. Thoroughly drain prunes and proceed with recipe. I purchase mine at Costco, as well as the walnuts.

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