Bourke Street Bakery

I lived in Sydney for a total of 3.5 awesome years. I completed my undergraduate degree there, and then went back to work for an airline company in 2007. One fine day (literally), Crystal took me to the real McCoy in Bourke Street, Surry Hills, and that was when I first got acquainted with the best cookie ever - the Bourke Street Bakery sour cherry cookie. And as luck would have it, there was actually another Bourke Street Bakery outlet right across my apartment on Gardeners Road. The bakery very quickly became my regular weekend hound. I was there almost every Saturday morning and for months in a row, I ordered the same old thing while reading my morning paper - a cappuccino, a sour cherry cookie (yes, a cookie for breakfast) and a ginger creme brulee (this calls for a separate post altogether).

Photo From Bourke Street Bakery's Website

So you can imagine how ecstatic I was when the good folks at Bourke Street Bakery published their very own cook book which included the recipe to my all-time favourite cookie! I absolutely adore the refreshing acidity the morello cherries lent to this chewy cookie. 

One problem I encountered while baking these cookies - I couldn't find dried cherries in the local supermarket, so I opened my precious jar of Trader Joe's morello cherries, fished them out of the syrup and laid them in the oven to dry for 30 minutes. They were still soft and mushy, so I decided to add some dried cranberries to the dough mixture as an extra fruit treat. 

Sour Cherry and Cranberry Cookies:

Adapted from Bourke Street Bakery 

Makes 35 cookies

235g chopped dark chocolate (70% cocoa for dark chocolate lovers, 55% cocoa for those who don't quite like dark chocolate)
1 cup (150g) plain flour
1/3 cup (40g)  cocoa powder
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
100g unsalted butter
220g soft brown sugar
2 eggs
100g dried morello cherries 

100g dried cranberries

Preheat the oven to 330°F/165°C.

Melt the chocolate over a simmering pot of water or in the microwave.
In another bowl, sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.

Whisk the butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until pale and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, making sure each is well incorporated.
Add the dry ingredients in three batches, mixing well each time, then add the melted chocolate. Stir in the cherries and cranberries. Do not panic if the mixture is gooey. This is normal.

Refrigerate the mixture for 15 minutes before shaping the cookies. Take one heaped tablespoon of dough, roll into a ball and place on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Allow at least 3cm between each so they have room to spread.

Refrigerate until firm (approx 30 minutes). Bake the cookies in batches, for 15-20 minutes each, or until risen and quite cracked on top. Cool on the trays.

Can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.