Cherry Christmas Cookies - an Old Fashioned Slice and Bake Recipe
Servings 4 dozen cookies
Perfect for any holiday cookie tray, Cherry Christmas Cookies are a seasonal classic, an old fashioned recipe that is pretty as well as delicious. The dough can be frozen ready to slice and bake, so you can get ahead with your Christmas preparations!
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup icing sugar, sifted icing sugar is also known as confectioner's sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract
- 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1½ cups colourful candied cherries, halved It is nice to use an assortment of colours like red, green and gold if possible, but just red and green are fine too.
- ¾ cup pecan halves, roughly chopped
Instructions
- Cream butter and sugar in an electric mixer.
- Add the egg and either the vanilla or almond extract to the butter and sugar mixture.
- Beat until the mixture is light and fluffy.
- Gradually add the flour, beating in slowly a bit at a time..
- Remove the bowl from the electric mixer and fold in the cherry halves and chopped pecans using a wooden spoon.
- Put the dough in the fridge for an hour.
- Shape the dough into 3 rolls, each about 9 to 10 inches long.
- Wrap the dough rolls in cling film (plastic wrap) and either refrigerate for up to 3 days, or place the rolls in freezer bags and freeze for up to 2 months.
- When ready to bake, remove the rolls from the fridge or freezer and allow to warm up a little.
- Preheat the oven to 325°F (165°C). You may need to set the temperature a bit lower for a fan or convection oven.
- Gently roll the wrapped rolls on a flat surface to ensure they are round and don't have a flat edge where they have been sitting.
- Cut the chilled or frozen rolls in ⅛ inch slices.
- Bake on ungreased baking sheets for 10 - 12 minutes until the edges of the cookies are beginning to turn golden.
- Allow to cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheets before removing to wire racks to cool completely.
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