Cherry-Chocolate Cookie Cups

Prep Time: 45 minutes  Start to Finish: 1 hour 30 minutes

4 dozen cookies Calories Per Cookie: 110

So I have this thing where I like to get a baking book, open it up, and start baking from cover to cover.  Right now I am baking my way through Betty Crocker's "The Big Book of Cookies."  Sometimes I come across a recipe that doesn't seem to appealing to me, but I force myself to make it, because you never know what the outcome will be.  And most of the time I am pleasantly surprised.  This recipe was one of those recipes!

I didn't know what to expect by the title and picture, but the way to describe these delicious bite size cups are chocolatey cookie brownie filled with a white chocolate cherry amaretto liquor center.  The perfect balance of sweetness and liquor was such a surprise that I couldn't eat just one!

Click here for full recipe

Here are some tips to help you make these cookie cups.  If you decide to make them please comment below and let me know what you think!

~Candied cherries are different than maraschino cherries, and they are normally a seasonal product.  Being we are not in the holiday season, I had a little bit of trouble finding them.  However, the wonderful manager at Shop-rite found some stored away in the back, so don't be afraid to ask for help.  

~In step one, it says to mix the ingredients until a soft dough forms.  I found it easier to just use my hands and knead it all together.  The dough it too thick to use a spoon.  Don't be afraid to dive right in there with the most functional tools you own (your hands)!

~ I always roll all of the balls and place them in the mini muffin tins before forming the cups. This way you can see if you need to adjust the size of any of the balls once you fill them all up. 

~ In step 3, you need to take the bottom of a wooden spoon and reshape the cups before baking again.  This works great, but I would move quickly as the cookies tend to set the longer they sit.  Some of the dough may stick to the edge of the spoon, just take it off and keep on moving.

~ I used amaretto for the liquor choice in the cookies, but you can add an orange flavor liquor, or you can omit the alcohol all together.  The alcohol isn't cooked, so keep that in mind.

~The mixture to fill the cups will be more liquid than solid.  After letting it sit, give it a good stir before using a spoon to fill the cups.

~I found it easiest to remove the cups from the tins just by pinching and pulling them up with my fingers.  They popped right out!

These cookies not only taste great, but they look amazing as well.  Be creative...you can always take the base of these cookies and fill them with whatever filling you want!  So cup up and enjoy!

<3 P.S.

It took an hour or so for the filling to solidify once the cups were assembled completely.  You can dig right and enjoy them before they are set, but if you wait it out you won't have to worry about any drips!