Cherry Blossom Cookies

Cherry blossom cookies are a delightful sweet, often called cherry kiss cookies, because they have literally been “kissed” with chocolate. These vibrant maraschino cherry and almond flavored cookies feature a Hershey’s chocolate kiss at their center, making them simultaneously delicious and impressive.

Cherry blossom cookies make the perfect holiday addition due their festive reddish color and decadent combination of flavors. Whip up a batch of these fruity, nutty, chocolate cherry morsels for your next holiday gathering or work function, and enjoy all the accolades that will come your way.

Cherry Blossom Cookie Ingredients

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• Butter: Softened butter provides richness and moisture to the cookie dough to create tender, fluffy baked cookies.
• Confectioners’ sugar: Super-fine powdered sugar is lighter and airier than granulated sugar, which produces a soft and delicate cookie texture.
• Salt: Adding a small amount of salt to the dough will enhance the other flavors and balance the sweetness.
• Maraschino cherry juice: The juice from the jar of maraschino cherries adds a pinkish-red hue to the cookies and a sweet cherry flavor.
• Almond extract: Cherry and almond are complementary flavors often paired together. The nutty and aromatic taste of almond extract enhances the sweet fruitiness of the cherries.
• Food coloring (optional): The maraschino cherry juice will give the cherry blossom cookies a subtle pinkish-red color, but if you’d like to give the cookies a deeper, more vibrant hue, red food coloring can be added to the dough.
• Flour: All-purpose flour gives the cookies their structure. It has the right amount of protein (gluten) to provide these cherry kiss cookies with a balanced texture, midway between chewy and tender.
• Maraschino cherries: While maraschino cherries are more of a preservation method than a type of cherry, their familiar vivid red color and sweet candy taste make them a perfect addition to this recipe for cherry blossom cookies.
• Chocolate kisses: Quite literally the centerpiece of these cookies, milk chocolate kisses bring an eye-popping visual appeal to the cookies. The chocolate is also a creamy, rich contrast to the sweet fruitiness of the maraschino cherry flavors.

Directions

Step 1: Make the dough

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Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, beat the butter, confectioners’ sugar and salt until they’re blended and smooth. Beat in the cherry juice, almond extract and, if you’re using it, the food coloring. Gradually beat in the flour until it’s incorporated and a dough has formed. Stir in the chopped cherries until they’re evenly mixed into the dough.

Step 2: Shape the cookies

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Shape the cookie dough into 1-inch balls, and place them 1 inch apart on a greased baking sheet, leaving room for the cookies to flatten during baking.

Step 3: Bake the cherry blossoms

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Bake the cookies for 8 to 10 minutes or until the bottoms are lightly browned. Remove the baking sheet from the oven, and working quickly while the cookies are hot and soft, press a chocolate kiss into the center of each one (cracking around the edges of the cookies is normal). Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for two minutes before removing them to a wire rack to cool completely.

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Cherry Blossom Cookie Variations

• Make them more cherry: If you want a sweet cherry explosion when biting into these cookies, replace the chocolate kisses with chocolate cherry cordial kisses. Cherry cordial kisses are filled with a gooey cherry-flavored filling that will transform these cookies into the ultimate chocolate-cherry decadence.
• Add some nuts: Give these blossoms an extra crunchy texture and boost the almond flavor by mixing almond slivers into the cookie dough. Substitute the chocolate kiss with an almond-stuffed kiss for an even bigger crunch.
• Swap the almond for vanilla: If almond flavor isn’t your thing, or if you’re avoiding nuts, sub out the almond extract with vanilla extract. The vanilla will add a different flavor profile, complementing the chocolate and enhancing the fruitiness of the maraschino cherries.

How to Store Cherry Blossom Cookies

Cherry blossom cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to two weeks. To help ensure the cookies stay fresh, line the bottom of the container with waxed paper to create an extra moisture barrier between the container and the cookies. Place the cookies in a single layer, being careful not to overlap them, which could cause the cookies to stick together.

Can you freeze these cherry blossoms cookies?

You bet! You can freeze the cookies after they have cooled completely by placing them into a freezer-safe airtight container. Layer the cookies between sheets of waxed paper or parchment to prevent sticking. Place the container into the freezer for up to three months, until ready to use. The cookies can be thawed at room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes before serving.

Cherry Blossom Cookie Tips

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How do I ensure my cookies don’t stick to the pan?

Greasing the pan should prevent the cookies from sticking, but you can also line the baking sheet with parchment paper. Using parchment paper will prevent the cookies from sticking and make them easier to remove from the baking sheet. Parchment paper also makes cleanup a breeze.

What if my dough is too dry?

Different brands of flour can produce different results when making doughs and batters, as can altitudes and humidity levels. If your cookies are coming out too dry, add additional cherry juice to give the dough more moisture. If the reverse is true and your dough is too sticky, adding more flour will help create the correct consistency.

What if my cookies are too flat?

If your cherry blossom cookies are flat when they come out of the oven, try chilling the dough first. After rolling the cookie dough into 1-inch balls, place them in the refrigerator for 20 minutes to cool thoroughly. Once the dough is chilled, add the balls to the baking sheet and bake according the recipe directions.