Ingredients

• ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ cup butter or margarine (softened)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla
• 48 maraschino cherries
• For the frosting -
• 6 oz semisweet chocolate chips
• ½ cup sweetened condensed milk
• Cherry juice (4 to 5 teaspoon)

Directions

• Directions
• In bowl, stir together flour, cocoa, salt, baking powder and baking soda. In another bowl, beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla to butter-sugar mixture and beat well. Gradually add dry ingredients to butter-sugar mixture and beat until well blended.
• Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and push down center of each ball with thumb. Drain cherries and reserve juice. Place 1 cherry in center of each indentation. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
• For frosting, put chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk in small saucepan. Heat until chocolate melts. Stir in 4 teaspoons cherry juice. If too thick, add more juice.
• Spoon 1 teaspoon frosting over each cherry. Spread to cover cherry. Bake 10 minutes or until done. Do not overcook. Remove to wire rack and cool. The cookies freeze nicely.