Triple chocolate rye + sour cherry cookie bars

Perfect for indulging, perfect for gifting

Hello! Welcome to today’s installment of holiday merriment here at Stories from Catbird Cottage. In keeping with the theme, last week I hosted a wonderful giveaway, and right now I’m gathering details for another, coming very soon for all subscribers! I’ve also been testing holiday cocktails to wet your whistle…

Today, make this extremely giftable bake. Let’s get straight to it so you can assemble your grocery list and begin baking, just in time for holiday gifting.

There are two cookie recipes from the winter chapter of my book, A Year at Catbird Cottage, I’ll be featuring at a book signing *today*. They are both SO GOOD and represent different moods in excellent bakes. If you’re in the Hudson Valley NY today, come say hi! I’ll be at Accord Market at 4pm - get a taste of these amazing cookies and pick up a signed copy or two.

I adapted the chocolaty number into to-die-for bars, and in this format, they’ve become a new favorite. These chocolate rye + sour cherry ganache bars are chewy like a brownie, incorporate *three* kinds of chocolate: cocoa powder, chocolate chunks, and ganache, and they’re not overly sweet - something that turns me off in many baked goods. The inclusion of dried sour cherries and a little sprinkle of flaky salt brings the perfect balance. I decided to slice these decadent treats into roughly an inch square to make the most of a batch - and so guests can indulge multiple times - but of course, consider your own plans and cut them into any size you like.

From the headnote in the book:
It is the holiday season, our last hurrahs of the year. These not-too-sweet but exceedingly indulgent sandwich pretties are pure seduction. Dried tart cherries and flake salt present contrast to the chocolate, lightening the richness. You can make the cookies on one day, then make the ganache and sandwich them the next. Allow them to set fully before diving in so their flavors have a chance to meld. After tasting, you may end up coveting the lot for yourself.

Triple chocolate, rye + sour cherry cookie bars
makes 50+ 1-inch cookie bars

cookies
1 ¼ cups Dutch process cocoa
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup rye flour
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp kosher salt
2 ½ sticks salted butter, at room temperature
1 packed cup dark brown sugar
1 ½ cups cane sugar
1 vanilla bean, seeds stripped from the pod (save pod for another use)
2 eggs
10 oz bittersweet dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 ½ cups dried sour cherries, coarsely chopped
flaky salt, such as Maldon, for sprinkling

ganache
½ cup heavy cream
4 ½ oz bittersweet chocolate chips

Make the cookies: Sift the cocoa, flours, baking soda, and kosher salt into a
medium bowl. Stir to combine and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream the butter using an electric mixer. Gradually incorporate the sugars and cream until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the scraped vanilla seeds and the eggs, one at a time, blending in between additions to incorporate. Add the flour-cocoa mixture and blend until just combined, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula as you mix everything together. The mixture will be dense, like clay. Using the spatula, fold in the chocolate and cherries.

Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Scoop half of the dough onto a parchment-lined 9 x 13” baking pan, with sides that are long enough to use as tabs, later. Use a butter knife to spread the mixture evenly to the edges and corners. It will end up about ½” thick. Bake for 12 minutes until the surface is puffed and slightly cracked.

Allow it to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then pull one parchment end, tilting the pan, and slide it onto a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining half of the dough, topping this portion with a little flaky salt, and baking it as you did the first.

Make the ganache: In a small saucepan, bring the cream just to a boil and then
remove from the heat. Add the chocolate chips and allow it to sit for a minute. Stir the mixture with a silicone spatula until fully incorporated—the cream and chocolate should meld and become richly dark and satiny. Allow the mixture to cool until thickened and spreadable, 8 to 10 minutes. Alternatively, you may accelerate this by placing the saucepan in the refrigerator for 5 minutes. When the ganache moves slowly when the pan is tilted, pour it onto the bottom (non-salted) half, then use an offset spatula to spread it into an even layer, all the way to the edges.

Cut the salted portion into four quadrants and with a spatula, arrange each, flush next to each other, onto the ganache to sandwich the ganache. Press the pieces towards each other in all directions to seal the shape and surface. Fyi, I did not do this and ended up fitting together that portion like a puzzle, so this method will spare you a messy, similar outcome.

Refrigerate the whole thing on its sheet pan for 4 hours, up to overnight. Cut them into rows, then cubes, with a small serrated knife while cold. This method makes slicing them a cinch, and keeps the ganache and sandwich stack orderly.

Serve them room temp: Once the chewy bars have sat at room temperature for a half hour or so, the ganache softens, delivering its creamy, chocolatey magic. The cookie bars will keep for up to 10 days, sealed in a container at room temperature. If you opt to refrigerate them, allow the bars to come to room temperature before serving.

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If you’re looking for more delightful cookie content, don’t miss these two proven crowd-pleasers -

Oat lace cookies

Chocolate+pistachio-dipped juniper shortbreads

Now, off to make merriment and fill the house with those intoxicating baking aromas… Happy holidays, and happy weekend baking!

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