Cherry Almond Butter Cookies
A Sweet Treat for Someone Special!
If you're a fan of shortbread cookies or buttery cookies, you will love this recipe. I promise.
It's my own creation adapted from a recipe for chocolate chip cookies on the inside of a box of butter, believe it or not!
It's a perfect treat for your sweetie on Valentine's Day or a Birthday or any special occasion. But don't stop there! How about a gift basket filled with a box of these Cherry Almond Butter Cookies, a book of poetry, and a bottle of sparkling grape juice or wine?
The secret to these cookies is really in the butter. Always use a high quality butter. You can tell by the way it softens...if it's not a good quality, it won't soften to a creamy finish.
Ingredients
- 1 -1/2 cups softened butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure almond extract
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 5 ounces dried sweet cherries (about 1-1/2 cups)
- 1 cup sliced almonds
- 2 cups sifted confectioner's (powdered) sugar
- 2 or 3 tablespoons water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Coarsely chop the dried cherries and set aside. Lightly chop the sliced almonds but leave fairly large pieces. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside In a large bowl, combine the butter and both sugars and beat at medium speed until very creamy, scraping bowl once or twice.
- Turn mixer to low speed and gradually add the flour mixture until well mixed. Fold in the chopped cherries and the almonds
- Line a cookie sheet with parchment and drop dough by rounded tablespoons about 2 inches apart onto cookie sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until lightly browned. DO NOT OVERBAKE. Remove from oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Remove cookies to cooling racks.
- To prepare the glaze or icing:
- Mix powdered sugar with water, 1 tablespoon at a time until smooth and of a glazing consistency. Drizzle the icing over the cooled cookies.
Baking Love in the Kitchen - ...the book.
If you'd like to serve more than just cookies for Valentine's Day, try some of the recipes in this award winning cookbook!
A Useful Tip
Form unbaked cookie dough into individual cookie balls, place closely together in an 8 x 11 baking dish and place in freezer. When the unbaked cookies have frozen, remove from the baking dish and place them into freezer bags, label and keep frozen until you want a freshly baked batch of cookies!
Cookie dough ready to freeze
My Favorite Special Occasions
What is your favorite gift to give or receive from that someone special?
"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart."
— Helen KellerLove Poems - by Khalil Gibran
A beautiful keepsake for this special day.
Do you have a special cookie recipe for Valentine's Day? Or a special breakfast or dinner menu? I'd love to hear about it.
