Cherry Almond Cookies

Sweet and chewy. Hooray for cookies! And even more hoorays for ice cream sandwiched in the middle!

Cherry Almond Cookies:

1/2 cup (80 g) dried cherries
1/4 cup (60 ml) Kirsch
1/4 cup (56 g) nondairy butter
1/4 cup (60 g) soy or other nondairy yogurt
1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
1/2 cup (110 g) packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure almond extract
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup (48 g) almond meal
1 cup (78 g) quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup (68 g) all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (30 g) whole-wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 hour before preparing the cookies, place cherries in a small bowl, and combine with Kirsch. Stir halfway through soaking time. Drain well, set aside.
Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C, or gas mark 4). Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats, such as Silpat.
With an electric mixer, cream butter, yogurt, and sugars. Stir in extracts and almond meal.
Place the oats in a medium bowl, and sift flours, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt on top. Stir to combine.
Stir dry ingredients into wet. Stir in cherries.
Divide dough into 12 equal portions, using about 3 tablespoons (57 g) worth of dough. Place on cookie sheets, about 1 inch (2.5 cm) apart. Flatten a little, as the cookies don’t spread a lot while baking.
Bake for 17 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown. Wait a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Yield: 12 cookies