Christmas Maraschino Cherry Shortbread (Printable Version)

Buttery cherry-studded cookies for festive holiday gatherings

# What You Need:

01 - 1 cup unsalted butter, softened

02 - 1/2 cup powdered sugar

03 - 2 cups all-purpose flour

04 - 1/4 teaspoon salt

05 - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

06 - 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

07 - 3/4 cup maraschino cherries, drained, patted dry, and chopped

08 - 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (optional)

01 - Preheat oven to 325°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

02 - In a large bowl, cream together softened butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy.

03 - Mix in vanilla and almond extract until fully incorporated.

04 - Add flour and salt; mix until just combined. Do not overmix to maintain tender texture.

05 - Gently fold in the chopped maraschino cherries and mini chocolate chips, if using.

06 - Scoop tablespoon-sized amounts of dough and roll into balls. Place on prepared baking sheets, spacing about 2 inches apart.

07 - Gently flatten each cookie with your palm or the bottom of a glass to desired thickness.

08 - Bake for 16-18 minutes, or until edges are just set and bottoms are lightly golden.

09 - Cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.

01 -

The combination of almond and vanilla extracts creates this sophisticated bakery flavor that makes people think you spent hours on something far more complicated
These cookies travel beautifully and actually taste better on day two when the cherry flavor has had time to settle into the butter

02 -

I once skipped drying the cherries thoroughly and ended up with a strange gummy texture in parts of the cookie
These seem underbaked when you take them out but they firm up as they cool, don't be tempted to leave them in longer

03 -

If you don't have almond extract, just double the vanilla instead of leaving it out entirely
A glass dipped in sugar prevents sticking when flattening the cookies and adds a slight sparkle