Cherry Shortbread Cookies

There's nothing as nice as shortbread when bells are ringing, people are singing, our hearts are filled with Xmas cheer and our homes are filled with people both from far and near. When homes reflect the colors of the Season, at this special time of year, many cooks like to incorporate traditional colors into baked goods, as well. For sweet treats, this is ideal.

These melt-in-your mouth cherry shortbread cookies make for a perfect treat around Christmastime, with brightly-colored halved cherries decorating them and reflecting the colors of the Season.

Now shortbread comes in many incarnations, some is more like a bread, some is more dense, some is flavored, some is loaded with nuts or dipped in chocolate, and some is rather exotic, such as lavender shortbread, and some shortbread is of the melting variety, having a light-as-a cloud texture that is unbeatable and a delight to bite into, such as the melting cherry shortbread cookies seen in this article.

Unlike the standard recipes for shortbread, the addition of corn starch gives these cookies their unique light texture. They are then topped with both red or green cherries resulting in a truly special cookie.

With just four main ingredients + the cherries, these cookies are easy to make. Make more than one batch because you'll be hard-pressed to keep a supply of these on hand.

1. Cream room-temperature butter with a wooden spoon, whipping lightly.
2. Add icing sugar gradually and cream until fluffy.
3. Add cornstarch and continue stirring mixture.
4. Add flour, then continue to work with hands, gently kneading and folding over until mixture forms into a large ball of dough.
5. Roll into smaller balls (approx. 1" around) and place on a large ungreased baking sheet.
6. Indent with a finger to create a round hollow.
7. Chill 1/2-1 hour so cookies hold shape while baking.
8. While cookies are chilling, slice red and green cherries in halves and right before baking, place a halved cherry in each impression.
9. Bake cherry shortbread at 300 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned. Reduce heat to 250 degrees toward end of cooking time.
10. Check one cookie, making sure that cookies are cooked in the middle. If necessary, continue baking until done.
11. Lift cookies onto a flat surface to cool.

Using a wooden spoon will result a slightly firmer dough, good for rolling into rounds as seen on this page.

If using beaters, these cookies will be more like a whipped shortbread with a softer texture, better suited to piping into light-as-a-cloud cookies that can still be decorated with cherries.

• When mixed with a wooden spoon and kneaded with hands, a denser cookie results, which is ideal if you wish to roll your cookies into balls and top with cherries.
• These cookies can be prepared with beaters for a whipped cookie and spooned or piped onto a pan, as seen in the video below.

Either method produces fabulous Xmas shortbread cookies.

These cookies are easy to make, so tasty, and so very festive that Santa and Mrs. Claus and the reindeer and elves would approve.