Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookie with ZEST, Part Deux

So for the last post, I came up with a cookie recipe. This recipe involved various stuff (nuts, orange zest) added to a base recipe I found online. The base recipe involved only 1 stick of butter and some milk, which was a little unusual.

The cookies were fantastic, flavorful, tender--buuutt, a day or so later, they turned dry and crumbly. They completely lost their pizazz.

So I decided to try the same flavors but with a different base cookie recipe--a more typical base recipe involving 2 sticks of butter. This time, here we are a few days later, and the cookies still have a fantastic texture, chewiness, and flavor. Hoorah!

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookie with Orange Zest, Dried Cherries, and Walnuts
(An adaptation of a basic chocolate chip cookie recipe )


2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 sticks of butter, room temperature

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1/2 cup fair-trade dutch-processed cocoa

1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (crunched by hand)
1/3 cup dried cherries (each ripped in half or chopped)
zest of 1 orange

1) Beat both sugars, butter, and vanilla in a mixing bowl until fluffy.
2) Add the eggs one at a time. Mix.
3) Add the cocoa, flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix.
4) Add in the chocolate chips, dried cherries, walnuts, and orange zest. Mix.
5) Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
6) Drop spoonfuls of dough onto the cookie sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake for about 9-11 minutes. Let cool on the cookie sheets before taking off the cookie sheets.


While my husband and I really love these, I already have Variation #3 in mind. A minor change, but I think it could be significant. This past variation had the right flavor and maintained its composure over time. But I think the dough was too thick (I think caused by the addition of the cocoa powder), so the cookies are more cake-like. I think if I diminished the flour to compensate for the addition of the cocoa powder, the cookies might have a touch more of the consistency I am going for.

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (up to 2 cups if the consistency of the dough needs it)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 sticks of butter, room temperature

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1/2 cup fair-trade dutch-processed cocoa

1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (crunched by hand)
1/3 cup dried cherries (each ripped in half or chopped)
zest of 1 large orange, or 2 regular sized oranges

Pictures from Variation #2