3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cherry extract or cherry brandy
Red paste food coloring
1/4 cup ground almonds
Coarse sugar
1. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. In another bowl, whisk flour, baking powder and salt; gradually beat into creamed mixture. Refrigerate, covered, 1 hour.
2. Divide dough in half. Add cherry extract to 1 half and tint red. Knead almonds into remaining half. Wrap each half; refrigerate at least 3 hours or until firm enough to roll.
3. On a baking sheet, roll each portion between 2 sheets of waxed paper into a 15x8-in. rectangle. Refrigerate 30 minutes.
4. Remove waxed paper. Place almond rectangle on top of cherry rectangle. Roll up tightly jelly-roll style, starting with a long side. Roll in coarse sugar; wrap securely. Refrigerate 2 hours or until firm.
5. Preheat oven to 375°. Unwrap and cut dough crosswise into 1/4-in. slices. Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until set. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool completely. Store in airtight containers.
A crisp, light textured cookie with a mild cherry flavor will add great color to your holiday cookie tray.—
TOTAL TIME: Prep: 30 min. + chilling Bake: 10 min./batch + cooling
YIELD: about 5 dozen.
Nutrition Facts
1 cookie: 105 calories, 5g fat (3g saturated fat), 18mg cholesterol, 67mg sodium, 13g carbohydrate (7g sugars, 0 fiber), 1g protein.