Cherry Almond Cookies

Tall stack of maraschino cherries with a bite out of the top cookie. It is topped with a single maraschino cherry

These gorgeous cookies are perfect for a cookie exchange or Valentine's Day dessert! The pink hue drizzled in white chocolate is gorgeous!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Diet Vegetarian

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Refrigerator Cooking Tim 3 hours 30 minutes

Total Time 3 hours 55 minutes

Servings cookies

Calories 133kcal

Author Ginny

Equipment

Sheet Pan
Silpat
Parchment Paper

Ingredients

15 Maraschino Cherries cut in half and in half again (should be in quarters)
1 stick Butter softened to room temperature but not melted.
¾ cup Sugar
1 tbsp Vanilla
½ tsp Almond Extract
2 tbsp Maraschino Cherry Juice
2 cups Flour
4 tbsp White Chocolate to melt on top or for drizzling

Instructions

Cut the cherries into quarters and set aside.
In the mixing bowl of a stand mixer, whisk the butter until it's smooth and creamy.
Add the sugar, vanilla, almond extract, maraschino cherry juice, and mix until smooth.
Add the flour, and mix until completely blended. Remove the mixing bowl, and gently fold in the chopped cherries, until blended.
Place the dough on a large piece of parchment paper, and place the dough in the refrigerator for three hours.
After three hours, remove the dough from the refrigerator, and place a piece parchment paper, or a silpat mat on a cookie sheet, and set aside.
Form a tablespoon of dough, and roll it into a ball, and place on the lined cookie sheet.
Continue until all cookies have been rolled.
Place the cookie sheet in the refrigerator and chill for 30 minutes.
Remove the cookie sheet, and bake the cookies in a 350 degree oven for 12 - 15 minutes, or until the cookies are golden brown on the bottom and around the edges.
The cookies will spread a little, but shouldn't spread thin, so make sure you chill them according to directions.
If you don't chill the dough, the cookies won't bake correctly. Once the cookies are baked, remove them from the oven, and leave them on the cookie sheet to cool, for 10 minutes. Then remove to a wire rack.
When cookies are completely cool, melt the white chocolate in the microwave, on 10 second intervals until it's smooth. Drizzle with melted white chocolate.

Notes

Cook Time: Always check your cookies at the earliest time as they will cook an additional two minutes once you take them out of the oven. Each person's oven is also calibrated differently.

Chilling Requirement: **These cookies will spread too much if you don't refrigerate them as directed** If you don't chill the dough, the cookies won't bake correctly. Once the cookies are baked, remove them from the oven, and leave them on the cookie sheet to cool for 10 minutes.

Omit Chocolate: You can leave off the white chocolate if you would like.

Addition: Consider adding in a few white chocolate chips for added sweetness in the cookie dough.

Proper Measurement: Ensure you measure your flour properly to make sure the cookies get the right consistency of dough. That means DO NOT scoop the flour out of the canister. This is the time you need to spoon it into the measuring cup and then level off with the back of the knife.

Freezer Instructions: You can freeze the cookies you don't plan to eat right away. Just freeze for up to three months. I like to use Ziplock's freezer grade bags so I don't get any freezer burn.

Freezing Cherries: You can indeed freeze maraschino cherries. So if you don't plan to use up a whole jar, transfer into a freezer friendly container and store for up to three months.

Nutrition