Chocolate-covered Cherry Cookies

Ingredients

Ingredients for chocolate cookie dough:

• ½ cup butter, soft
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
• 1 ½ cups flour
• ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda

Ingredients for chocolate fudge topping:

• 1 cup chocolate chips
• ½ cup sweetened condensed milk
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 ½ teaspoons cherry juice
• 1 large jar maraschino cherries

Instructions

1. Make chocolate cookie dough.
2. In a large bowl, cream butter, sugar, egg and vanilla until light and fluffy.
3. In a small bowl, combine dry ingredients; flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, ¼ teaspoon salt, baking powder and baking soda.
4. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture and blend at low speed until dough forms; ca. 1 minute.
5. Chill dough for 1 hour.
6. Make the chocolate fudge topping.
7. Melt the chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk, ¼ teaspoon salt and cherry juice in a pan over low heat.
8. Cut cherries in half; pat dry and set aside.
9. Shape the chilled dough into 1" balls and place on cookie sheet.
10. Press an indentation into each ball with thumb and place ½ cherry in each.
11. Top with chocolate fudge topping.
12. Bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes.