Cherry-Chocolate Shortbread

Serves	24
Prep time	1 hour, 10 minutes
Cook time	15 minutes
Total time	1 hour, 25 minutes
Meal type	Dessert
Occasion	Christmas, Valentines day
Slightly adapted from recipe on	Closet Cooking

These shortbread cookies are delicate and buttery. The vibrant color of the maraschino cherries makes these cookies a beautiful choice for Christmas or Valentine's Day.

Ingredients

2 Sticks unsalted butter (softened)
½ Cup powdered sugar
2 Cups flour
½ Teaspoon salt
1 Cup Maraschino cherries (chopped)
½ Cup dark chocolate chips (mini chips would be ideal. If the chips are too large, it will be difficult to slice the cookie dough.)
1-½ Teaspoons vanilla extract
8 Ounces white or dark chocolate (for drizzling on top of cookies - optional)

Note

I didn't want to mess with Closet Cooking's recipe -- these cookies are delicious. The one thing I would do differently the next time I make these is to use either mini chocolate chips or chop my regular chocolate chips up smaller. I found that the chips got in the way as I was slicing the dough log.

Directions

Step 1
In mixer, cream the butter and sugar.
Step 2
Add flour and salt. Dough will be very thick.
Step 3
Stir in the maraschino cherries, chocolate chips and vanilla extract.
Step 4
Form dough into a two-inch thick log. Wrap in plastic and chill in refrigerator for approximately 1 hour or more.
Step 5
Preheat oven to 325°F
Step 6
Slice dough into ¼ inch thick slices and place them on a parchment lined baking pan
Step 7
Bake approximately 15 minutes or until light brown on top Cool completely then decorate with drizzle of melted chocolate. Alternatively, you can dip cookies into melted chocolate