Cherry Snowball Cookies

I had a jar of maraschino cherries that I had no idea what to do with. I love cherries, but I didn't get an early enough start on my Christmas baking to make chocolate covered cherries, and no other cherry recipes came to mind. Then I stumbled across this recipe on Pinterest and I knew what to do with that jar of cherries.

They are like Russian tea cookies, but cherry flavored!

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
2/3 cups coarsely chopped marachino cherries, drained and patted dry
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar, plus additional for rolling
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups flour
3/4 cup walnuts, toasted and finely chopped*

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Beat butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium for about 30 seconds. Add the sugar and almond extract. Beat until well combined. Gradually mix in flour. Stir in the walnuts and cherries.

Shape balls into 1-inch balls and place them 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until the bottoms are a light golden brown. Allow the cookies to cool for 5 minutes.

Place powder sugar in a shallow dish, roll cookies in sugar, and place on a wire rack to cool. Once the cookies are completely cooled, roll once more in powdered sugar if desired.

Store in an airtight container.

*How to toast nuts: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place nuts in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until the nuts are a light golden brown. Stir the nuts half way through baking. Allow to cool.

Before the powdered sugar

One coat of powdered sugar

Finished product!

Enjoy!

~Krissy

Christmas 2013 Baking List
Dark Chocolate Cover Cranberries
Michigan Cranberry Brownies
Honey Cake
Soft and Chewy Gingerbread Men Cookies 
Christmas Kiss Cookies 
Gingerbread House 2013
Three Chocolate Truffles: Mint, Rum, and Orange
The Best Sugar Cookies
Stained Glass Cookies

Tea Cookies

These tea cookies are new to my baking list, but I think they are here to stay. I decided to give them a try because they kept popping up whenever I searched for new holiday recipes, they look like snowballs, and everyone seemed to love them. And now I know why. I don't usually go for crumbly, dry cookies--I generally like mine soft and chewy--but there is just something about these cookies that makes you want to eat the whole batch in one sitting.

Tea Cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar, plus extra for rolling
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups flour
3/4 cup walnuts, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Beat butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla  together until creamy. In a separate bowl mix the flour, walnuts, and salt. Gradually add the dry mixture to the creamy one until well blended. Shape into 1-inch balls and place the balls on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8 to10 minutes or until the cookies are firm but not brown. Allow the cookies to cool until they you can handle them. While still warm, roll the cookies in powdered sugar. Allow to completely cool, and roll in powdered sugar a second time. Recipe yields about 3 dozen.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

2011 Christmas Baking List:
Mint-Chocolate Truffles
Starlight Mint Cake
Sea Salt Caramels
Rocky Road Chocolate Log
Candied Citrus Peels
Easy Rum Balls
Homemade Marshmallows
Christmas Kiss Cookies
Tea Cookies

Other Holiday Cooking Ideas:
Snowflake Tortillas
Gingerbread House Decoration Ideas
Christmas Peep S'mores