Cherry flips

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/12/2012 (4676 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Jeanie Dubberley offers a recipe for cherry flips, pretty little cookies that taste as good as they look.

Cherry flips

114 g (1/2 cup) butter, softened
60 ml (1/4 cup) icing sugar
1 egg yolk
375 ml (1 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour
pinch salt
5 ml (1 tsp) almond extract
about 15 maraschino cherries, well drained and patted dry

Pink icing:
125 ml (1/2 cup) icing sugar
10-15 ml (2-3 tsp) cream or cherry juice
few drops almond extract
few drops red food colouring (optional)

Preheat oven to 175C (350F). Grease cookie sheet. In medium bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add egg yolk and mix well. In small bowl, blend flour and salt; add to creamed mixture. Add almond flavouring. Pinch off about 15 ml (1 tbsp) dough and flatten into a disc in your hand. Place a cherry in the middle and fold dough around it, forming a ball. Place on prepared cookie sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes or just until lightly browned. Make icing by blending icing sugar, cream or cherry juice, and almond extract together until smooth. Spread icing over cooled cookies. Yields about 15.

Tester’s notes: I like the delicate flavour pairing of cherries and almonds. This recipe makes a small batch, but it can be doubled. For the icing, I used cherry juice rather than cream, which would require refrigeration. Because my cookies seemed to be browning quickly, I turned the oven temp down to 160C (325F) and found mine were done at about the 18-minute mark.