Cheesecake Thumbprint Cookies

Someone posted a link to ths on FaceBook, so I gave it a try. The original recipe can be found here.

Ingredients:
For the cheesecake filling
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 large egg yolk
1 1/2 teaspoons sour cream
1/4 teaspoon vanilla

For the cookie dough
16 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg yolk
2 cups all-purpose flour

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

To prepare cheesecake filling
In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until light and fluffy. Beat in sugar and salt until smooth. Mix in egg yolk, sour cream and vanilla - cover and place into the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

To prepare the cookie dough
In a large mixing bowl, beat together butter, sugar and salt until creamy and combined. Mix in egg yolk until incorporated. Gradually add flour and mix just until combined.

Scoop out level tablespoons worth of the dough and roll into balls. Place balls onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Using the handle end of a thick wooden spoon make an indentation in the center of each ball.

Place into the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and carefully use your thumb (or the end of the same wooden spoon) to press the middle of the cookies back down, remaking the indentations. You want a pretty large indentation so you can have enough filling. Place cookies back into the oven, rotating them from their original position, and continue to bake until slightly golden around the edges, about 7 minutes.

Remove cookies from the oven and fill the indentations with the cheesecake filling. I piped in the filling to keep the edges clean, but you could use a teaspoon. Place back into the oven and bake for 7 more minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer cookies to a wire rack to cook completely.

When cool, place cookies into the refrigerator to chill before serving.
Makes about 32 cookies.

Chocolate Cherry Chunk Cookies

So I occasionally shy away from Martha Stewart recipes since they can be unnecessarily complicated, but these cookes came together very easily. That said, the individual ingredients are spendy (how can dried cherries be so spendy??) Regardless, they are tasty!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups oats
• 1 cup dried cherries
• 4 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (I simplified by using dark chocolate chips)
• 1 cup toffee pieces (I used Heath bits)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. In a large bowl, sift together flour and baking soda.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and both sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice during mixing. Add the egg; mix on high speed to combine. Add the vanilla; mix to combine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
3. Add flour mixture to egg mixture, and mix on low speed until well combined. Add the oats, cherries, chocolate, and toffee pieces; mix to combine after each addition.
4. Spoon a heaping tablespoon of dough onto a lined baking sheet. Repeat, spacing 2 inches apart.
5. Bake cookies until golden brown, 14 to 16 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight container up to 2 days.

http://www.marthastewart.com/318628/tories-cherry-chocolate-chunk-cookies?czone=food/best-grilling-recipes/side-dishes-and-desserts&center=276943&gallery=274281&slide=259496