These rich and tender cherry thumbprint Christmas cookies have bright and colorful button centers, made by placing pretty halved red or green candied cherries into the middle of each one. (One important note: candied cherries are not the same thing as maraschino cherries.)
Originally called butter jewels cookies when this recipe was published back in the seventies, this old-fashioned treat will brighten up any holiday plate.
This recipe makes 36 small cookies, but you can easily double the ingredients and make more.
Butter thumbprint cookies with candied cherries: A vintage 70s recipe
Recipe from the Statesman Journal (Salem, Oregon) December 3, 1975
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Cherry thumbprint Christmas cookies
These rich and tender cherry thumbprint Christmas cookies have bright and colorful button centers, made by placing pretty halved red or green candied cherries into the middle of each one.
This recipe makes 36 small cookies, but you can easily double the ingredients and make more.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
- 1 tablespoon grated orange peel
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg white, slightly beaten
- 1/2 cup finely-chopped walnuts (or pecans)
- 1/2 cup red and green candied cherries, halved
Instructions
- Cream butter; add sugar and continue beating until blended.
- Separate one egg.
- Beat in egg yolk, vanilla, lemon juice and peels.
- Combine flour and salt; add to creamed mixture; blend well.
- Chill dough for 2 to 4 hours.
- Preheat oven to 300 F.
- Remove dough from refrigerator and shape into 1-inch balls.
- Dip balls in the slightly-beaten egg white, then in the chopped nuts.
- Place on buttered cookie sheets.
- Make a thumbprint in each dough ball, and place a red or green candied cherry half (curved side up) into the indentation at the top of each cookie.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
- Remove to wire rack to cool.
Notes
Candied cherries are not the same thing as maraschino cherries.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 36 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 63Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 9mgSodium: 45mgCarbohydrates: 10gFiber: 0gSugar: 6gProtein: 0g
Click Americana offers approximate nutrition information as a general reference only, and we make no warranties regarding its accuracy. Please make any necessary calculations based on the actual ingredients used in your recipe, and consult with a qualified healthcare professional if you have dietary concerns.
