Crisp Chocolate Chip Cookies with Dried Cherries and Pistachios

Halloween is fast approaching, and what better way to prepare than with a sinful treat? (No tricks, we promise!) This one comes from our new favorite recipe destination, Williams-Sonoma.com, and they call these their Crisp Chocolate Chip Cookies with Dried Cherries and Pistachios.

First a warning - do not start eating this dough, or you will not be able to stop. Seriously, we clearly missed the part where it said we were actually adding crack to the dough. It must have been in the butter.

Let it be known that those pistachios and cherries came with a Williams-Sonoma price tag, but boy were they worth it! The cookies themselves were very easy to assemble. Beyond combining the powdered ingredients, the bulk of the recipe relied heavily on our old friend, the stand-mixer. Add, mix, add, mix, add, mix...you get the idea.

Placing the cookies on the prepared sheets was challenging, because the dough was a) sticky, and b) delicious. To save yourself a few extra hours on the elliptical, we recommend using two teaspoons to shape the dough into balls, flattening them with the palm of your hand, and quickly stashing both baking sheets in your oven. Then lick that mixing bowl clean!

Swapping the baking sheets midway through cooking creates a problem because those sheets are good and greased up. Your cookies will slide if you don't keep them level, so take your time!

We offer this caution because we, of course, did NOT take our time. Zombies must have eaten our brains last night, because one of us tried to perform the whole sheet-swapping task without setting down either baking sheet.

That's how we ended up with Mega-Cookie.

Most of Mega-Cookie was salvageable with a few quick cuts from the edge of a spatula, and one of us appreciated the excuse to sample some of our less attractive product.

The verdict? These. Cookies. Are. Delicious. In fact, we've already pulled the trigger and added them to our Christmas Party must-have list. They are so crammed full of delicious fall flavors that we could eat them all season. (And since W-S doesn't include nutritional information with their recipes, we just might!)

So make these. Make them now. This weekend, if you have to wait. And...have a tasty, treat-filled Halloween!