#FoodieExtravaganza ~ Chocolate and Maraschino Cherry Shortbread Cookies

February 04, 2015

#FoodieExtravaganza ~ Chocolate and Maraschino Cherry Shortbread Cookies

Welcome to the Foodie Extravaganza!

If this is your first time joining us, the Foodie Extravaganza is a monthly party hosted by bloggers who love food! Each month we incorporate one main ingredient into recipes to share with you and this month that ingredient is a Valentine's Day classic...cherries!! Get excited!! We hope you all enjoy our delicious cherry treats this month and come back to see what we bring for you next month. We have 17 delicious and unique cherry recipes waiting for you at the end of this post. Yay!

If you are a blogger and would like to join our group and blog along with us, come join our Facebook page Foodie Extravaganza. We would love to have you! If you're a spectator looking for delicious tid-bits check out our Foodie Extravaganza Pinterest Board! Looking for our previous parties? Check them out HERE.

This month when I learned out theme was going to be cherry, I knew I wanted to get some maraschino cherries to work with - they are such a sweet treat and something we VERY rarely keep stocked in the house. My son had also recently commented on wanting more shortbread cookies - which I've never actually baked before. I brought some home after a cookie exchange in December and he really liked them. So I decided I would see if I could find a maraschino shortbread cookie recipe! I found two different recipes that were similar, but had very different baking methods so I sort of merged them to get the results I wanted. A tender, flaky, buttery shortbread cookie lightly tinged pink from the maraschino cherry juice, and filled with chewy bites of cherry. Some I left plain, and some I brushed with warm melted chocolate and then coated with chopped roasted almonds. Both versions got a big thumbs up from my 16-year old son!

I think they came out so pretty - these are perfect for any upcoming Valentine's Day get together or celebration you might be participating in with the swirls of pink and bits of red cherry. The decadent chocolate coating takes them over the top!

Chocolate and Maraschino Cherry Shortbread Cookies adapted from Closet Cooking and AllRecipes

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup cold butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup maraschino cherries, chopped
8-oz milk chocolate chips
1/4 - 1/2 cup chopped roasted almonds

Directions

In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine the flour, confectioner's sugar, and salt. Cut the cold butter and vanilla into the dry ingredients until mixture begins to combine into dough; gently stir in the chopped maraschino cherries (depending on how "juicy" your cherries are, you may want to add a little more flour at this stage if the dough gets tacky / wet with the addition of the cherries).
Place a strip of saran wrap on the counter and form the dough into a log, place on saran wrap, and roll the saran wrap around until well sealed.
Place in refrigerator and allow dough to chill for at least one hour.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Prepare a baking tray by lining with a silpat or with parchment paper.
Remove chilled dough from the refrigerator and cut dough into approximately 1/4" thick rounds (you may need to reshape them after cutting to make sure they are fairly round before placing on the baking tray). Place dough on the baking sheet (I only put 6 - 7 cookies per tray to be sure they wouldn't touch when they spread as they baked).
Bake for 10 - 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly browned on top. Allow cookies to cool for at least 15 - 20 minutes on baking tray before moving to a cooling rack (to prevent cracking if they're not yet set).
Melt the milk chocolate chips in a double boiler and then spread some of the chocolate over half of each cookie, drizzle over the top, or dip the cookies in the chocolate if desired - place on a cooling rack or parchment paper. Sprinkle chocolate covered cookies (while chocolate is still warm) with chopped almonds and allow cookies to cool / dry completely.