Balsamic Vinegar Cookies

You heard that right.  Vinegar in a cookie.  I recently discovered balsamic vinegar, and used it in my Lemon Balsamic Chicken Recipe.  I wanted to try balsamic vinegar in a couple different ways.  In my research on ways to use it, I discovered it can be used as an ice cream topping, so I figured I would give it a shot plain.  It has a nice aged grape taste with an acidic kick.  I decided I would give it a shot in a desert, so I found a recipe for balsamic vinegar fudge cookies.

Cookies with Cherries

This recipe is pretty simple and actually fairly healthy for cookies.  I like the cookies with the cherries because they add a nice bite to the cookies, but the cherries are optional, so you can skip that step if you want.  You will need:

1 cup flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup butter
1/3 cup cocoa powder
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup plain greek yogurt
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Optional:
1/2 cup dried cherries chopped
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

In a small saucepan place the cherries and 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar and just heat them up.  Let them sit until cool.  In a small bowl mix the flour, baking soda and salt.  In another pan, melt the butter.  Once the butter is melted, remove the pan from the heat and add the sugars and cocoa powder until well blended.  Now add the yogurt, vinegar and vanilla and mix thoroughly.  Add the flour mixture and stir until fully incorporated.  Stir in the cherries.  Drop by tablespoonfuls onto the cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes until the edges are firm when pressed.  Allow them to cool a few minutes in the pan and then transfer to a wire rack to allow them to completely cool.

Now comes the best part, dig in!  The balsamic vinegar enhances the flavors of the cookie, and the cherries absorb some of the acidic bite from the vinegar and give these little babies a nice punch.

Cookies without cherries