Cherry Almond Snowdrops Food

CHERRY ALMOND SNOWDROPS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Place cake flour, 3/4 cup confectioner's sugar and salt in a food processor; pulse until blended. Add butter and extracts; pulse until butter is the size of peas. Add cherries and almonds; pulse until combined (dough will be crumbly)., Shape dough into 1-in. balls, pressing firmly to adhere; place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned., Cool on pans 10 minutes. Roll warm cookies in remaining confectioners' sugar. Cool on wire racks.

DRIED CHERRY ALMOND SCONES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• In a small bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, lemon zest, salt and cinnamon. Add in the butter and rub with your fingers into the dry ingredients until a coarse meal forms. Add in the cherries and almonds. Add the heavy cream and combine it into the butter flour mixture.
• Form the dough into a 1-inch thick disk and cut it into 6 wedges. Sprinkle each wedge generously with the turbinado sugar. Transfer the wedges to a parchment-lined sheet pan and bake in the preheated oven for 17 to 18 minutes, turning the pan halfway through. Serve warm with Honey Butter.
• In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, add all ingredients and whip on high speed until the cream starts to clump and turn light yellow. Continue mixing as butter forms and the buttermilk begins to separate out. Scrape sides and continue mixing until mixture is one lump of butter. Place butter into a clean container or serving dish and store in the refrigerator until ready to use.

CHERRY-ALMOND SNOW COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Combine butter, 1 cup powdered sugar, and white sugar in a large bowl; beat with an electric mixer until creamy. Mix in cherries, amaretto liqueur, cherry juice concentrate, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Beat in ground almonds.
• Combine flour and salt in a separate bowl; add to butter mixture and blend until well combined. Roll dough into 1 1/2-inch balls and place on the prepared baking sheets with room in between, as cookies will expand with baking.
• Bake in the preheated oven until edges are golden, about 20 minutes. Cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes.
• While cookies are cooling, place remaining 1 cup powdered sugar in a bowl. Coat each cookie in powdered sugar until completely covered. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

CHERRY ALMOND DELIGHTS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, beat butter and cream cheese until smooth. Beat in egg. Add cookie mix; mix well (dough will be sticky). Shape dough into a disk; wrap in plastic. Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm enough to handle., Place almonds and sugar in a food processor; pulse until almonds are finely chopped. Add eggs; process until mixture forms a paste. Add butter and vanilla; process until blended., Preheat oven to 350°. Shape dough into 1-1/4-in. balls; press onto bottom and up the sides of greased mini muffin cups., Place 1 Tbsp. filling in each cup. Top each with a cherry. Bake 16-18 minutes or until edges are golden and filling is set. Cool in pans 10 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool completely. Dust tops with confectioners' sugar before serving.

CHERRY-ALMOND SNOWBALLS

Steps:

• Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Spread the almonds on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until slightly darkened, about 10 minutes; let cool completely. Transfer to a food processor and pulse until finely ground. Add the flour and pulse to combine.
• Beat the butter in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, the vanilla and almond extracts, and salt and beat until combined. Reduce the mixer speed to low; add the flour mixture and beat until just incorporated. Cover and refrigerate until slightly firm, about 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, combine the dried cherries, amaretto and 1 tablespoon water in a small microwave-safe bowl and microwave 30 seconds; set aside until the cherries are plump, about 20 minutes.
• Scoop out a tablespoonful of dough, press a dried cherry into the center, then shape the dough into a ball, enclosing the cherry. Repeat with the remaining dough and cherries and arrange about 1 inch apart on 2 ungreased baking sheets. Bake, switching the position of the pans halfway through, until lightly golden on the bottom, 15 to 20 minutes. Put the remaining 1 cup confectioners' sugar in a large shallow bowl. Let the cookies cool 5 minutes on the baking sheets, then carefully transfer to the bowl with the sugar and gently toss. Transfer to racks to cool completely, then toss in the sugar again.

MARASCHINO CHERRY ALMOND COOKIES

Steps:

• Place the butter in a mixing bowl, and beat with an electric mixer on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Gradually beat in 2/3 cup of confectioners' sugar, then add almond extract, eggs, and salt, and beat until the mixture is fluffy and well combined, about 3 more minutes. Reduce mixer speed to medium, and gradually beat in flour until the dough is smooth, about 1 minute. Gently stir in the maraschino cherries.
• Form the dough into 2 logs about 1 inch in diameter, roll each log in plastic wrap or waxed paper, and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, at least 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line several baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Cut each dough log into about 25 slices about 1/2-inch thick, and place the cookies on the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 1/2 inch of space between each cookie.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the cookies are set but not browned, 12 to 14 minutes. Remove to cooling racks to cool to room temperature, about 15 minutes.
• To make icing, beat egg whites with lemon juice until frothy, about 1 minute, then beat in vanilla extract and confectioners' sugar, a cupful at a time, until the icing is smooth and spreadable. Spread about 1 teaspoon of icing on each cooled cookie, and let the icing harden before stacking.