Cherry almond shortbread cookies are an easy and delicious cookie recipe! Buttery shortbread cookies flavored with almond extract and maraschino cherries. These cookies have amazing flavor with bright red cherry pieces!
Ingredients for Cherry Almond Shortbread Cookies
- Unsalted butter: Room temperature for easy creaming.
- Powdered sugar: A bit of powdered sugar adds a slight sweetness to the shortbread.
- Salt: To enhance the flavors in the cookies.
- Almond extract: One teaspoon almond extract adds amazing flavor to these cookies.
- All-purpose flour: Regular all-purpose flour.
- Maraschino cherries: Chopped maraschino cherries.
Tools & Supplies for Making Cherry Almond Shortbread Cookies
How to Make Cherry Almond Shortbread Cookies
To make the cookie dough, I recommend using an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Here is the basic breakdown of the recipe.
- Cream unsalted butter, powdered sugar, salt, and almond extract on medium speed.
- Add all-purpose flour and mix on low speed until the mixture is crumbly.
- Add chopped cherries to the mixture and mix on low speed until the dough forms.
- Place dough on a sheet of parchment paper. Form the dough using your hands and the parchment paper into a log about 2 inches in diameter. Chill the dough log for at least 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet pan with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Slice the cookie dough log to create cookies about 1/2 inch thick. Place cookies on the pan. Bake for 12-14 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the oven. Cool on the pan for 2 minutes. Transfer cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Cherry Almond Shortbread Cookies Recipe Tips
Crumbly dough
The dough will be very crumbly at first. After you add the chopped maraschino cherries, continue to mix on low speed until the dough comes together. Sometimes this can take a few minutes. Do not add any additional liquid to the cookie dough.
Forming the dough into a log
To form the dough into a log, I like to use a sheet of parchment paper to assist. Place the cookie dough on the center of a parchment sheet and form the dough into a log shape. Fold the parchment paper over the dough to assist in creating the log shape. I also love using a spatula to help press the dough into a log shape. Check out this video on how it’s done! After the dough log is formed, wrap the dough in parchment paper and plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least one hour.
Cookie sizes
For the cookies pictured, I shaped the cookie dough into a log that was about two inches in diameter. I sliced the cookies approximately 1/2 inch thick. Feel free to make the diameter of the cookies smaller or slice the cookies thinner. Just be aware that the yield of the recipe will be different than what is stated and the bake times will vary. The smaller or thinner the cookies, the less time baking. The cookies are done baking when they are very slightly golden-brown around the edges.
Maraschino cherries
Chop the maraschino cherries with a knife or a small food processor. Do not worry about additional liquid. A little bit of maraschino cherry juice adds some great color and flavor to the cookies. Just remove the cherries from the juice, chop, and add to the cookie dough.
Make the cookie dough ahead of time
I love making cookie dough ahead of time, especially around the busy holidays. Make the cookie dough, form it into a log, wrap in parchment paper and plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator for a week or two. When you are ready to bake, simply slice the dough and bake as directed. You can also store the dough log in the freezer for up to one month. To slice and bake the cookies, you will want the dough log to thaw slightly so that it remains cold but sliceable.
Storing
Store the baked cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for about 3 to 4 days!
Click here to see a quick video on how to make cherry almond shortbread cookies! Follow Cake Me Home Tonight on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube for more recipe videos and baking tutorials!
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Cherry Almond Shortbread Cookies
Equipment
- Electric hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup maraschino cherries chopped
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or in a large mixing bowl with an electric hand mixer, cream together unsalted butter, powdered sugar, salt, and almond extract.
- Add all-purpose flour and mix on low speed until the mixture becomes crumbly.
- Add in chopped maraschino cherries and mix on low speed until the dough forms.
- Place dough on a sheet of parchment paper. Form the dough using your hands and the parchment paper into a log about 2 inches in diameter. Chill the dough log for at least 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 350° F and line a baking sheet pan with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
- Slice the cookie dough log into ½ inch pieces. Place the cookies on the pan allowing some room for spreading. Bake for approximately 12-14 minutes until the edges are set and before the cookies start to brown.
- Remove the pan from the oven. Cool the cookies on the pan for 2 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
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Comments & Reviews
Hi can this be rolled out and cut into shapes ?
I haven’t tried that, but it does maintain shape when baked, so it might work! Let me know if you give it a try!