1 cup powdered sugar

10 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup dried sweetened cranberries

1/2 teaspoon orange zest

1/4 teaspoon table salt

1 cup all-purpose flour

Vegetable cooking spray

Parchment paper

1/4 cup semisweet chocolate morsels

1/2 teaspoon shortening

Preheat oven to 325°. Process 1/2 cup pecans in a food processor until finely ground. Add powdered sugar and next 4 ingredients; pulse until cranberries are coarsely chopped. Add flour, and pulse just until incorporated.

Spread dough in a lightly greased (with cooking spray) 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom; press remaining pecans into dough.

Bake at 325° for 30 to 35 minutes or until edges are golden. Remove sides of pan, and cut shortbread into 8 or 10 wedges. Transfer wedges to a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Bake 10 minutes or until firm. Transfer wedges to a wire rack, and cool completely (about 30 minutes).

Microwave chocolate morsels and shortening in a microwave-safe bowl at HIGH 1 minute or until melted and smooth, stirring halfway through. Drizzle melted chocolate over cookies; let cookies stand 10 minutes or until chocolate is set.

 

Preheat oven to 325F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter with brown sugar until light and fluffy about 2 minutes.

Add in egg and almond extract and beat to combine.

Add in almond meal and stir.

Gradually add in dry ingredients and mix on low until evenly combined.

Form a ball with about 2 tablespoons of dough. Place on cookie sheet and flatten slightly with finger tips. Repeat with remaining dough.

Using the tip of your thumb, make a hole as deep as you can in each dough ball without poking through the bottom.

Bake almond cookies for 10 minutes, then remove from oven.

Meanwhile, unwrap the caramel’s and cut each one in half.

Place 1/2 caramel piece into each of the formed thumb prints. Return almond cookies to oven immediately and bake until caramels have melted and cookies are golden around the edges, about another 5 minutes.

Transfer to a resting rack and let cool for 10 minutes.


Makes: 36 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutesYum

 

Wonderful flavors of almond and cherry in this heart shaped Valentine Cookie

In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, ground almonds, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Add egg, milk, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Scrape down sides of the bowl, and beat on medium-high until fully incorporated about 1 minute.

Scrape down sides of the bowl again and add dry ingredients. Mix on low until flour is fully incorporated, about 1 minute.

Form dough into a disc, cover in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375°F. On a floured surface, roll out cookie dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Using large heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut out 30 hearts, rerolling scraps of dough as needed. Use smaller heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut out small hearts from the center of 15 large hearts. Discard small hearts. Place large hearts on parchment paper-lined baking sheets and refrigerate for 10 minutes.

Bake in preheated oven until just beginning to brown, about 9 minutes. Remove to wire rack to cool.

Take all cookies with hearts cut from the center and using a sifter, dust them with powdered sugar. Take the whole-heart cookies and spread  1 tsp. cherry jam onto the surface, leaving a 1/2 border around the edge of the cookie without any jam. Stack the powdered sugar-covered cookies on top of the jam covered cookies, lightly pressing to make the cookies stick together.Yum

These are also known as Grandma Claire's cookies. She made them famous for us. We have learned that you should use good butter for this recipe. Sometimes some of the store brands have ruined the recipe.

Form the dough for these buttery favorite thumbprint cookies into balls, then roll them in shredded coconut. Press your thumb into the center of each ball so that a drop of your favorite apricot or raspberry jam can be baked right in.