1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup cocoa
3 cups flour (not sifted)
2 small (10-oz.) jars maraschino cherries
2 cups chocolate chips
1/2 cup condensed sweetened milk
Preheat oven to 350 deg. F., rack in middle position.
Add sugar to melted butter; let cool, then add eggs. Mix thoroughly. Add baking powder, baking soda, salt, vanilla, and cocoa, stirring after each addition. Add flour and mix well. (Dough will be stiff and a bit crumbly.)
Drain cherries and remove stems, reserving juice.
Roll dough into walnut-sized balls. Place on greased cookie sheet, 12 to a standard cookie sheet. Press down in center with thumb to make a deep indentation. Place one cherry in each indentation.
In a double boiler, combine the chocolate chips and the condensed sweetened milk. Heat on low until the chips are melted. Add approximately 1/8 cup of the reserved cherry juice and stir to a thick sauce. If sauce is too thick, add more juice in small increments. Spoon the sauce over the center of each cookie just enough to cover each cherry. Make sure it doesn't drip down the sides.
Bake at 350 deg. for 10-12 minutes. Let cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes, then remove to rack to finish cooling.
*Note: If you don't like cherries, substitute well-drained pineapple tidbits, using the pineaple juice to thin the frosting. You can also use pecan halves or macadamia nuts and thin the frosting with cold coffee or water. If you don't have anything to go on top, just put the chocolate mixture into the indentations.
