Cherry Almond Chocolate Kisses

I wanted to make these sweet little cookies for Valentine's Day and just ran out of time! But they're also wonderful at Christmas or any time of the year when you're wanting to bake a cherry-flavored treat! These little cookies are also perfect for special get-togethers like wedding showers, baby girl showers, or even afternoon tea. I adapted my recipe from one in the Pillsbury Best Cookies Cookbook. This recipe makes a little more than 5 dozen cookies, but if you don't want quite that many you can always halve the recipe.

CHERRY ALMOND CHOCOLATE KISSES by Cottage Flavor, adapted from Pillsbury Best Cookies Cookbook

Makes 64 to 68 cookies 

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 6 teaspoons "juice" from 10-ounce Maraschino Cherry jar
• 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons almond extract
• 6 to 8 drops of red food coloring (or less or more, for desired color)
• 4 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 (10-ounce) jar Maraschino Cherries, drained and chopped (about 3/4 cup)
• 1/3 cup finely chopped almonds
• 1  (11-ounce) bag Hershey's® Milk Chocolate Kisses (there's about 68 kisses in a bag)

Preheat oven to 325˚F. 

In large bowl, cream powdered sugar and softened butter together, blending well. Add Maraschino Cherry juice, almond extract, and red food coloring, mixing well.

Add flour and salt to the butter mixture, blending well (the batter will be very thick). Add chopped cherries and almonds, mixing well (because the batter is thick, it may be easier to work the cherries and almonds into the batter with your hands).

Shape dough into balls that are slightly larger than 1" and place 2" apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 325˚F for 14 minutes, or until bottoms are lightly browned. Remove from oven and quickly press a Hershey's Kiss into the center of each cookie. Remove cookies from pan and cool completely on a wire rack. 

Note: If you've used all the chocolate kisses and happen to have some extra cookies, you can roll these cookies, while still warm, in confectioner's sugar–they taste great that way, too!

Linked to Full Plate Thursday