Chocolate Cherry Almond Christmas Cookies
Easy chocolate shortbread thumbprint cookies with candied cherries and almond topping.
Servings: 6 Dozen Cookies
Calories: 214kcal
Ingredients
- 2 Sticks of Butter softened to room temperature
- 3 oz Cream Cheese softened
- 1 c Granulated Sugar
- 1 Large Egg separated
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 2 c All Purpose Flour
- 1/2 c Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- 1 c Ground Blanched Almonds
- 4 oz Red Candied Cherries halved
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl; beat butter and cream cheese with a hand mixer on medium speed until creamy.
- Gradually add the sugar to the butter mixture, beating well to combine; add the egg yolk and vanilla extract then mix to combine.
- Next add the flour and cocoa powder in batches mixing to combine between each addition; cover the dough and chill for one hour.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C)
- Shape the dough into 1.5 inch balls; dip tops of the balls into lightly beaten egg white then in ground almonds to coat.
- Place cookie dough balls on a parchment lined baking sheet. Gently make an indentation in the middle of each cookie with your thumb and place a cherry half in the center.
- Bake for 15 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet then transfer to cooling racks to cool completely.
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Notes
- To make old fashioned Southern Cherry Crown Cookies, omit the cocoa powder and add another ½ cup of flour to the recipe. Use almond extract instead of vanilla and follow the rest of the recipe as is.
- Use your favorite nut ground in place of almonds if preferred.
- Instead of cherry, a whole pecan may be used to top each cookie or omit the nut entirely and gently press the cookies down with two fingers and decorate with sprinkles.
- Thumbprints may also be made and topped with a dollop of jam.
Nutrition
Serving: 3cookies | Calories: 214kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 32mg | Sodium: 106mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 12g