Holiday Maraschino Cherry Shortbread Cookies… Christmas, New Year, Santa Claus, Christmas Tree, Cookies… everything is about holidays these days.
I am super excited and I can‘t wait to spend the holidays with my family. We have already started preparing and, as you know, I especially enjoy making Christmas cookies.
My son is my little helper and the two of us make a winning combination in the kitchen. We have decided to make a little surprise for my husband and prepare his favorite shortbread cookies. They are so easy to make and yet so special.
There are many different ways to prepare and decorate them, and you can also make various shapes. I chose Maraschino Cherry Shortbread Cookies because they look classy with the Maraschino cherry in the middle.
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Take a look our most popular Christmas and New Year`s Eve recipes Christmas Chocolate Crinkle Cookies and Cranberry Frosted Soft Sugar Cookies.
What do you need to make this Maraschino Cherry Shortbread Cookies:
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar
- 2 1/2 tbsp. cornstarch
- 2/3 cup unsalted butter – softened
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- 27 Maraschino Cherries
How to prepare Maraschino Cherry Shortbread Cookies?
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Put parchment paper in the baking pan and leave aside. In a medium sized dish combine flour and corn starch. Leave aside. In a large bowl mix butter and sugar using electric hand mixer at medium speed, until it becomes light and fluffy. Add vanilla extract and pinch of salt and mix some more.
Add flour and corn starch. Mix at a lower speed for a few minutes to get a fine dough. Make balls of about 1 inch. Place them in the baking pan. Space cookies about 2 inches apart. Finally, place Maraschino cherry on the top of each ball of dough and press with finger until ⅔ of the cherry is inside the ball. Bake for 10/12 minutes. Wait for them to cool down and enjoy.
They are so simple, but make great impression. I made the dough and my son helped me make balls. He loved putting Maraschino cherries in the middle and felt so happy and proud. The result can be seen in the photos.
When my husband came home from work that day, there was a surprise waiting for him on the table. His smile was worth thousands of words.
We spent that afternoon together, enjoying Maraschino Cherry Shortbread cookies. So, I am sure there will be a special place for them on your Christmas table, as well.
Holiday Maraschino Cherry Shortbread Cookies
Christmas, New Year, Santa Claus, Christmas tree, cookies… everything is about holidays these days. We have already started preparing and, as you know, I especially enjoy making Christmas cookies.
Ingredients
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar
- 2 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
- 2/3 cup unsalted butter - softened
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- 27 Maraschino Cherries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Put parchment paper in the baking pan and leave aside.
- In a medium sized dish combine flour and corn starch. Leave aside.
- In a large bowl mix butter and sugar using electric hand mixer at medium speed, until it becomes light and fluffy.
- Add vanilla extract and pinch of salt and mix some more.
- Add flour and corn starch. Mix at a lower speed for a few minutes to get a fine dough.
- Make balls of about 1 inch. Place them in the baking pan. Space cookies about 2 inches apart.
- Finally, place Maraschino cherry on the top of each ball of dough and press with finger until 2/3 of the cherry is inside the ball. Bake for 10/12 minutes.
- Wait for them to cool down and enjoy.
Notes
They can be kept at a room temperature for a couple of days
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 27 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 74Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 12mgSodium: 6mgCarbohydrates: 8gFiber: 0gSugar: 3gProtein: 1g
Micha says
I love this cookies!
Dragana says
Thanks Micha 🙂
Marika says
Thanks for great recipe
Dragana says
Thanks a lot, Marika. I really appreciate 🙂
deborah scanlan says
I was looking for a few quick and easy cookies to make for a up coming open house for Christmas. Made it and love it. Was wondering if the dough can be made the day before and refrigerate.
Dragana says
Thanks Deborah 🙂
Yes, you can make the dough the day before and refrigerate.
Regards,
Dragana
Jen says
Thanks for sharing this recipe, can’t wait to try it!! Can these cookies be made ahead? Do they freeze well?
Dragana says
Thank YOU Jen 🙂
When the shortbreads have been baked and cooled completely, put the cookies into airtight container. I suggest that you put a layer of parchment paper or foil between each layer of cookies. You can keep shortbreads in the freezer for up to 3 or 4 weeks.
Regards,
Dragana
Melissa Kelly says
Are these cookies soft?
Dragana says
Hi Mellisa,
first day cookies are crunchy, the day after they melts in your mouth.
Regards,
Dragana
Natalie says
What kind of maraschino cherries do you use? Candies or from the jar?
Dragana says
Hi Natalie,
I used from the jar, but drained maraschino cherries.
Regards,
Dragana
Elle says
I made this recipe on the weekend fortnight family for the first time. The first dozen disappeared in minutes ! This recipe was so simple to follow and turned out delicious. I’ll be including them with my Christmas cookie boxes this year, thankyou !
Dragana says
I’m so glad that you enjoy it, Elle!
Merry Christmas!
Justtina says
Made these the other day and they were a huge hit. I did add just 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract to the recipe though. It gives the cookies a sweeter flavor. They were soft and melt in your mouth.
Dragana says
Ho Ho ho, I’m so glad that you enjoy it, Justtina 😀
Great idea about almond extract.
Merry Christmas!
Simone says
I just made these and tbey are absolutely melt in your mouth kinda delicious and so simple!!! Thank you so much for sharing one of the best shortbread cookie recipes.
Dragana says
Thank YOU, Simeone. I’m so glad you liked it.
Best regards.
Kyra Maro says
I made these and they’re absolutely FANTASTIC. Literally can’t stop eating them and neither can my family! So simple yet delicious! And they’re not too sweet or too dry. Perfect.
Dragana says
Thank YOU, Kyra, I’m so glad you liked it. They really are fantastic.
Best regards!
T says
I just finished taking these out of the oven. I don’t know what happened but my batter did not look like what was pictured. It might have been that I used softened butter from the microwave instead of leaving it out like I usually do. It was very wet and very soft. I put them into balls as best I could and put cherries in and then popped the cookie sheets in the freezer and then baked them from frozen. They definitely didn’t look as good as they could have but they do taste so good. I used Morello cherries though because I picked up a jar from the store and came across this recipe to see if it would work. While they are decent I definitely will use maraschino cherries. The Morello was a bit on the kind of tart and wet side. It didn’t mess with the cookies at all but I think the maraschino is what I will do, it’s just all I had. I read someone mention using almond extract, I think that will work too but these cookies are good for people who don’t like overly sweet.
I did these as a test run for Christmas and it will be one of the batches I make for sure. They melt in your mouth right after baking.
Do you know why my batter came out wet and sticky, was it the butter?
Dragana says
Yes, that’s probably the reason. Unsalted butter need to sit at room temperature.
Best regards,
Dragana
Judy Barrett says
Can I leave out the pinch of salt if if I use salted butter? Thank you.
Dragana says
Yes you can, Judy.
Happy Holidays!
Best regards,
Dragana