I found a great recipe for shortbread recently and I knew I wanted to jazz it up a bit and create a delicious cookie for Valentines day. We don't really go all out for Valentines around our house, but it's fun to make something a little different!
This cookie recipe has only 5 ingredients and it's quite easy to make. They really are melt-in-your-mouth delicious too. Adding the cherries really takes them to a new level. Although if you just want to make the shortbread, I've included easy instructions on shaping it without the cherries as well.
Hidden Cherry Shortbread Cookies
- 1 cup butter, softened {2 cubes}
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 1 jar maraschino cherries, plus 1 TBSP liquid from jar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place softened butter in a mixing bowl. You'll need to whip using a whisk for about 5 minutes. I use a Kitchenaid mixer to whip the butter, but you can also use a hand mixer. {The butter is whipped adequately when it looks more like whipped cream- see picture below.}
While the butter is whipping, lay about 20-25 maraschino cherries out on a napkin to dry. I gently pressed another napkin on top to absorb additional moisture.
Whipped butter looks almost like whipping cream!
After about 5 minutes, add sugar, almond flavor, cornstarch and flour to butter and whisk to combine. Beat on high for 3-4 additional minutes.
Now you're ready to create the individual cookies with a cherry hidden inside! A 1 TBSP cookie scoop makes this process very easy. Shortbread dough is very soft and buttery, so it's actually pretty difficult to shape by itself.
Here's what I did:
- Using your cookie scoop, scoop out dough and level off using the side of the bowl.
- Stick your thumb into the center of the scoop of leveled dough.
- Put a cherry inside the thumb print and gently press down.
- Using the dough that's collected on the sides, cover the top of the cherry.
- Push the lever to scoop the cookie out of the scoop.
- Round out dough using your hands.
I know, it's looks intimidating, but it's really not and the entire 6-step process will take out about 30 seconds to complete! I included pictures showing each step below too.
After you've shaped all the cookies, bake for 12-14 minutes at 350 degrees, until the very bottom of the cookies begin to lightly brown.
Remove from the oven and let them sit for a few minutes to cool down on the pan. Shortbread cookies are soft and fragile even after baking, so if you try to move them too soon, they might crack or fall apart. I whipped up the icing while they cooled.
Cherry icing: Whisk together: 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 1 TBSP butter {melted}, and 1 TBSP maraschino cherry juice.
Put a plastic baggie in a cup, then scrape icing into the baggie. Cut a small piece off the corner and you're ready to ice the cookies!
You can use emulsions instead of extracts for a richer flavor.
I got this emulsion in the bakery section at Ross for about $3.
Using your cookie scoop, scoop out dough and level off using the side of the bowl.
Stick your thumb into the center of the scoop of leveled dough.
Put a cherry inside the thumb print and gently press down.
Using the dough that's collected on the sides, cover the top of the cherry.
Push the lever to scoop the cookie out of the scoop.
Round out dough using your hands.
Voila!
Mound out the cookie dough onto a piece of plastic wrap or wax paper.
Using the plastic wrap, gently form the dough into a cookie log if you will. The dough will shape easily- I liked mine at about a 1.5" thick.
Place the cookie log into the freezer for 5-10 minutes. You don't want it frozen solid, you just want it cold enough so that you can slice.
Unwrap the cookie log and use a sharp, thin knife to slice the dough into rounds. I'd say each of mine were about 1/3 of an inch.
Lay out on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 12 minutes. Ice and sprinkle with decorations for fun!
Ice and sprinkle with decorations for fun!
