Chocolate Covered Cherry Butter Cookies

Happy Valentine's Day! Today will be a day of letting the people in your life know that you love them. Valentine's Day is always pretty low key. We actually weren't planning on doing anything this year, but a parent of a student that I teach gave me a gift card for us to have a date night for Valentine's Day. Luckily, I was still able to find a sitter for DJ. We grabbed a quick dinner and hit the movie theater. It is nice to have a little bit of a break sometimes. 

I always bake for Valentine's Day. I love these cherry butter cookies. The cherry flavor is matched by the almond extract to create a delicious blend of savory and sweet. I dip the cookies in a chocolate ganache and they taste exactly like a chocolate covered cherry, without all the syrupy mess. 

Ingredients

2¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour  

½ cup cornstarch
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
½ cup drained maraschino cherries (20 cherries)
1 cup sugar 
1½ cups fresh unsalted butter, at cool room temperature (3 sticks)
1 tablespoon maraschino cherry syrup
1 teaspoon almond extract


Directions
In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour, cornstarch, and salt. Reserve. On a cutting board, place cherries and roughly chop. Add the cherries, butter, cherry syrup, and almond extract. Mix until thoroughly combined. 

Refrigerate the tough for at least two hours or overnight. Seal dough with plastic wrap to be able to use for two or three days. When ready, oven should be preheated to 350 degrees.


Coat a baking sheet lightly with non-stick cooking oil or use a silpat. Pinch dough into one inch rounds and place on baking sheet. Bake each sheet of cookies for 12 to 14 minutes, rotating the pan halfway to ensure even browning. 


When cookies are lightly brown on the edges, place on wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy as is or dip in chocolate ganache.


Source: adapted fromThe LunaCafe