White Chocolate and Cherry Oatmeal Cookies

with rosemary butter and tart cherries

There’s nothing quite like coming home after a long trip away. No matter how magical your escape, it’s hard to beat the quiet little comforts of your own home—sleeping in your own bed, a long hot shower in your own space, your refrigerator and pantry stocked with all of your favorite staples. I got home earlier this week and, after spending most of my time unpacking and doing laundry, I made cookies.

The batch of cookies I made was nothing fancy (these browned butter chocolate chip cookies for Martin to take to work), but I found such great comfort in moving through my kitchen on Tuesday morning while Marco napped and music played softly in the background. Pulling out my familiar canisters of sugar, brown sugar, and flour, hefting my big bag of Callebaut chocolate from the bottom of the pantry, and finally reuniting with my salt (I know that sounds silly, but Diamond Crystal is hard to find in stores in Florida and since I use it exclusively when developing recipes, measuring with it is second-nature and I have to adjust when using finer or coarser salts)—it was all very therapeutic.

I can’t think of a more comforting cookie than these oatmeal cookies. The butter is steeped with fresh rosemary for a botanical base layer to an otherwise very classic oatmeal cookie. There is lots of brown sugar, an entire bag of dried cherries, and a smattering of white chocolate to round it out. For perfect cookies, take care not to over bake. We’re looking for golden edges and just-set centers, they will continue to bake and set up while they cool on the pan leaving you with warm, gooey middles.

white chocolate cherry oatmeal cookies

makes 12-14 large cookies

Ingredients:

226 g (1 cup) unsalted butter

2 sprigs fresh rosemary

270 g (3 cups) rolled oats

190 g (1 1/2 cups) all purpose flour

3/4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp kosher salt

200 g (1 cup) brown sugar

100 g (1/2 cup) granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste

8 oz dried tart cherries

6 oz chopped white chocolate

Procedure:

1. Place butter and rosemary in a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat until butter is melted and fragrant. Remove from the heat, cover, and let steep for about 15 minutes. Remove the rosemary and then set the butter aside to cool slightly.

2. In a large bowl, stir together oats, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together brown sugar, granulated sugar, and rosemary butter until smooth and homogenized and the mixture is room temperature.

4. Add the eggs and vanilla and continue mixing for 1-2 minutes, until very smooth and completely combined.

5. Gradually add the dry ingredients, mixing on low speed just until combined, followed by the dried cherries and chopped white chocolate, mixing again until just dispersed.

6. Using a large cookie scoop, scoop dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and chill for at least 30 minutes, preferably overnight.

7. When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350° F. Place cookies on another parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving about 2” space between cookies. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the edges are golden and the centers are just set. Sprinkle with flaky salt and let cool on the pan.