Recipe Tuesday: Artichoke Dip and Chocolate Cherry Cookies

Since I missed last week, I'm making it up to you by posting TWO recipes this week. Both were big hits at the Valentine's Day party I co-hosted this year.

Artichoke Dip

Ingredients:
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 (14 oz.) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 (4 oz.) can chopped green chiles, drained
1 garlic clove, minced

Preheat your oven to 350. Mix all the ingredients together until well blended. Spoon into a 9-inch pie plate or quiche dish. Bake 20-25 minutes, until brownish on top and bubbling on the sides. Serve with crackers, pretzels, or sliced veggies.

Chocolate Cherry Cookies

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 (10 oz.) jar maraschino cherries (about 36)*
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk

Take the butter out of the fridge about 30 minutes before starting this recipe to bring it to room temperature. DO NOT MICROWAVE IT TO SOFTEN IT. Preheat oven to 350. Combine the flour and cocoa powder in a small bowl and set aside. In a mixing bowl, beat the butter until softened. Add the sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, and beat until the mixture is combined. Beat in the egg and vanilla, and gradually beat in the flour/cocoa mixture. Shape dough into 1-inch balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Use your thumb to create a dip in the center of the balls. Drain the cherries, reserving the juice, and place one cherry (minus the stem) in the center of each cookie.

For frosting, combine chocolate and condensed milk in a bowl, then microwave until melted, stirring occasionally. Stir in 4 tsp. of the reversed cherry juice. Spoon about 1 tsp. of frosting over the cherries. Bake for 10 minutes and allow to cool on baking sheet for at least 1 minute.

I wish I had taken pictures of these, but trust me, they're delicious! The cookies are a little messy (that cocoa powder can really fly!), so you might want to use a food processor instead of a mixer. Enjoy!

* According to the recipe book, this recipe supposedly requires 48 cherries and makes 48 cookies, but I couldn't get that many out of the batter.