Chocolate Cherry Cookies

Adapted from The Native Foods Restaurant Cookbook, by Tanya Petrovna (Shambhala, 2003).
Simple Solution
Here is a sweet but healthy way to tell someone you care: packed in a lunch box, or served on a fancy plate with a snifter, these flavorful treats are dairy-free, but long on flavor and pleasure.
This well-known vegan head-chef at the Native Foods Restaurant has come up with some sublimely healthy--but sinfully delicious--treats. In these fetching little cookies, for instance, dried cherries add healthful antioxidants! You can feel good about baking a batch for your loved ones.
INGREDIENTS
2 cups unbleached or whole wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 1/2 cups organic sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup nondairy trans-fat-free margarine or vegetable shortening
1/2 cup sunflower oil
1/2 cup canned coconut milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup pecan or walnut pieces
3/4 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup dried sweet cherries (chopped if large)
1. Preheat oven to 300F. In a mixing bow, combine flour, baking soda, and sea salt.
2. In a separate bowl, cream sugar, maple syrup, margarine, oil, coconut milk, and vanilla. Gradually mix in dry ingredients. Stir in pecans, chocolate chips, and dried cherries.
3. Drop in spoonfuls on cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes.
Makes 3 dozen.