Cherry White Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients:

• 2 ½ cups flour
• ¾ cup sugar, divided
• 1 cup cold butter, cubed
• ½ cup finely chopped maraschino cherries, patted dry
• 12 ounces white chocolate, finely chopped, divided
• ½ teaspoon imitation almond extract
• ½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste
• 2 teaspoons shortening
• Decorations: red glittery sugar, Christmas themed candies

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325° Fahrenheit.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and ½ cup of the sugar. Using a pastry blender (or a fork), mix in the cubed cold butter until the mixture is crumbly.
3. Add in the cherries, 2/3 cup white chocolate, the almond extract and the vanilla bean paste. Knead with your hands until the dough forms a ball (it will seem impossible at first that this will ever happen, but I promise it does).
4. Form the dough into ¾” balls and place them 2” apart on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicon mat. Lightly wet the bottom of a small glass and dip into the remaining sugar. Flatten each cookie with the sugar lined glass.
5. Bake for 12-14 minutes, rotating pans halfway through cooking time. You want the edges of the cookies to be lightly browned.
6. Place the cookies on a wire rack to cool completely.
7. Melt the remaining white chocolate and shortening in the microwave (I heat in 15 second bursts and stir in between until it’s smooth).
8. Once the cookies are cooled, dip half of each cookie into the chocolate and let the extra drip off. Place on a sheet of waxed paper and sprinkle with either red sugar or festive candies. Leave them until they are set and then you can store in an airtight container.

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