November 1st marks the beginning of the Christmas baking season for me. I tend to give away a lot of baking at Christmas. I have fond memories of baking with my Grandmother and my Mom and its a tradition that I hope to carry on with my own daughter.
I start baking in early November and freeze it until its time to give it away in mid December. Most cookie recipes will freeze quite well for up to 3 months. You can even bake and fully ice cupcakes and freeze them. A thaw overnight in the refridgerator and they are just like fresh baked.
I will share with you some of my Christmas recipes over the next few weeks as I "countdown to Christmas". I always start with an old staple - this year it was Tollhouse Cookies - the classic chocolate chip cookies. That recipes already on my blog so I'll share tonight's recipe: Cherry Bonbon Cookies. These are really easy to make and have an elegant look to them so they're perfect for that special cookie tray.
Cherry Bonbon Cookies
Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups icing sugar, sifted
4 tablespoons milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
48 maraschino cherries (stemless, in syrup
Glaze:
1 cup icing sugar
1 tablespoon butter, melted
2 tablespoons maraschino cherry juice
Preheat oven to 350•F.
In a large mixing bowl or stand mixer, cream butter and sugar until smooth and creamy. Add milk and vanilla. Mix the flour and salt together and add 1 cup at a time to the creamed mixture, beating well after each addition.
Shape dough into one-inch balls. For uniform balls, use a small cookie scoop (it resembles a miniature ice-cream scoop).
Flatten the ball on the palm of your hand and place a cherry in the middle. Pinch the dough around the cherry and re-roll it between your palms to form a ball again. Place balls on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or Silipat mat and 
bake for 18-20 minutes until the bottom is lightly browned. The tops will still be quite pale. Cool cookies on wire racks.
Combine the icing sugar, melted butter and cherry juice together and mix until smooth. You can drizzle over the cookies with a fork, or put the glaze into a pastry bag fitted with a small plain piping tip. Alternatively you can use a zip bag with tiny bit cut off the corner. Pipe the glaze over the cookie and let set.
Enjoy!
2 comments:
Mmmm this is making my mouth water. Kim
oh you make these look so tasty! I too cook starting in November....and I also work for a plant that makes maraschino cherries LOL!
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