White Chocolate Cherry Cookies

You may have seen Paula Deen's recipe for White Chocolate Cherry Chunkies on Food Network over the holidays. Since there was some question as to how much butter to use, I opted for a similar recipe in The Joy of Cooking, adding maraschino cherries to half of the cookie dough instead of the dried variety. Next time, I think I'll leave out the nuts and double (or triple) the amount of cherries. Don't wait until Christmas to try these little keepers.

White Chocolate Cherry Cookies

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/3 cups sugar
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup macadamia nuts, chopped (optional)
1/2 cup maraschino cherries, drained and halved

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

Whisk together flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

In a mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Add in vanilla. Stir in the dry ingredients until just blended. Mix in chips and nuts (if desired) by hand. Set aside half of the cookie dough and stir in cherries.

Using a standard cookie scoop, drop 12 equal portions of dough per cookie sheet, baking only one sheet at a time for 10 to 12 minutes. Makes approximately 4 dozen cookies.