Leave it plain for a pretty hanging cookie.
These tender little sugar cookies with bits of chocolate and maraschino cherries will delight anyone with a sweet tooth. Surprise co-workers, friends, and loved ones with homemade Valentine treats!
(Also, at the bottom of the blog you’ll find links to three more recipes from my amazing blogger friends – and you do not want to miss those, so read on!)
They’re versatile! Decorate with chocolate, use a special heart-shaped “cup hanger” cutter, make little two-bite hearts with chocolate centers or write names on larger hearts.Add color for a hot pink Valentine effect, or let the cherries give them just a hint of peachy pink.
Drizzle or dip – chocolate is always a good choice!
Make a dainty hot pink cookie to go with a cup of tea.
I often use a variation on my basic shortbread cookie because I love the texture – and because the recipe is EASY! They are a little fragile though, so make sure they’re cooked long enough (too soft and they’ll break, but bake them too long and the pink will turn an unattractive color) and handle and transport them with care.
This makes a lot of cookes – 6 dozen. The baked cookies freeze well, or you can always freeze the cut out shapes between layers of parchment in a zipper bag. Or you can just eat them with abandon!
| Chocolate Cherry Tea Cookies | Print |
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 cups butter, softened (if using unsalted butter, increase salt by ¼ teaspoon)
- 1 teaspoon cherry flavoring
- A few drops of pink or red food coloring, if desired
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 cup mini chocolate chips
- 24 (to taste) maraschino cherries, finely chopped and lightly blotted with paper towels
- 4 cups flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup cornstarch
- Heat the oven to 350 F.
- In a large bowl, combine powdered sugar and butter. Beat until light and fluffy.
- Add flavoring, food coloring if using, and egg yolks, and blend well. (If using a stand mixer, you may want to switch to the dough hook at this point!)
- Add the chocolate chips, cherries, flour, salt and cornstarch. Stir just until the mixture forms a smooth dough. Dough will be stiff! If you have a sturdy dough hook, let it do the work. If not, you might have to knead it together by hand.
- Roll out the dough to about ¼ inch thick between sheets of lightly floured parchment. Cut with cookie cutters of your choice.
- Place 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet and bake 11-12 minutes, The bottom edges should just be turning golden brown. Watch the cookies carefully - if they get too dark the pink will turn an unattractive orange color!
- Move cookie sheet to a rack to cool for 1 to 2 minutes, then slide cookies onto rack to cool completely.
Your choice: natural or hot pink!
Chop and lightly blot cherries.
Beat the butter and powdered sugar until fluffy.
Add chips, cherries, and dry ingredients. Use a dough hook or lots of muscle!
Roll and cut into your favorite shapes.
Another option.
Well, this is officially my last Valentine’s post of the year. I still have half a gallon of cherries – which means I either need to freeze them or eat them. Hmmmm……freeze or eat? Freeze or eat?
Well, that was a no-brainer, wasn’t it?
Here are those wonderful recipes I told you about. Crumbs in My Mustachio created a “Tiramisu Cheesecake”, Moore or Less Cooking Blog brought “Fudgy Cherry Cheesecake Brownie Bars”, and Tampa Cake Girl baked an “I Love Chocolate Cake”. Hope you’ll stop by and visit their blogs!
Happy Valentine’s Day to all of my Rowdy friends! Lorinda