CHOCOLATE CHERRY COOKIES

These cookies won first place in Better Homes & Garden 1981 Prize Tested Recipes recipe contest, and readers still request it. Mine don't look exactly like the picture in the BH&G All-Time Favorites Cookbook -- the frosting I think was a tad too thin and baked down over the cherries, exposing the cherries. So I reduced the added liquid in the recipe below so that hopefully it won't happen. Nevertheless, these are very good -- chocolatey with a rich chocolate frosting and then there's that cherry. They make up quickly, too, even though they look complicated. I made a few changes, which I've noted below. I did have one problem: the recipe stated a 10-oz. jar of maraschino cherries which I bought, only to find that there weren't enough cherries to do all the cookies. So I cut the cherries in half. The cherries in this cookie are the star, so be sure you get a jar big enough so that you don't have to cut them in half.

Chocolate Cherry Cookies
INGREDIENTS: 1-1/2 cups + 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour, lightly spooned and swept
(I added the 2 Tbsp. flour)
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar (I used 1/2 cup sugar + 1 Tbsp. Stevia Plus)
1 large egg
1 Tbsp. instant coffee granules (decaf is ok)
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
3 tsp. coffee brandy, such as Kahlua (I used Samosa brand) divided use
44-48 maraschino cherries (a 10-oz. jar has only 30 cherries)
6 oz. semisweet chocolate pieces (1 cup)
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk)

DIRECTIONS: Have all ingredients at room temperature before starting. In a medium bowl, combine the first 5 ingredients and whisk well; set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter for a minute or two, then add sugar and beat till well combined and fluffy. Add the egg, coffee granules, vanilla, and 2 tsp. brandy and beat well, scraping bottom and sides as needed. Gradually stir in flour mixture till everything is incorporated into a soft dough. Chill for about a half hour if you have the time.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place about 2 inches apart on cookie sheet. With your thumb, press down center of each ball. Drain cherries, reserving juice. Place a cherry in the center of each cookie.

Prepare frosting: In a small saucepan, combine the chocolate pieces and condensed milk. Heat and stir until chocolate is melted. Stir in the remaining 1 tsp. coffee brandy and 1 tsp. reserved cherry juice. (If frosting is too thick to spread, thin it with additional cherry juice, but you don't want it too thin or it will bake down off the cherries.) Spoon 1/2 - 1 tsp. of the frosting over each cherry, spreading to cover the cherry.

Bake cookies 10-14 minutes or until edges are firm. (Mine took 13 minutes.) Cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute. Transfer to wire racks and let cool. Yield: 48 cookies (I got 44 cookies.)

KISSES

I don't know why these cookies are called kisses. It always makes me think of the cookies that have a Hershey's kiss in the middle. But these have Lekvar in the middle. Lekvar is readily available in the jams and jellies section of many foodstores, especially in the northeast. However, I cannot get it in New Bern, unless I buy the Solo prune filling in the can. Actually, I prefer making my own Lekvar once I found out how easy it is. Anyway, this recipe has been in my file for 30 years, and I got it from a neighbor when we lived in Whitehall, PA. She moved to Bethlehem, PA and I haven't heard from her in years. Joann, if you're out there, your cookies will be remembered forever. These are a basic shortbread cookie and, as such, they are not very sweet. The jam is tart, making this a delightful snack, not overly sweet, but very satisfying. You can substitute any tart jam if you are unable to find Lekvar or are unwilling to make it. Or you can buy Solo prune filling. These are not hard to make, but can get messy. To simplify matters, I spoon the Lekvar into a resealable plastic bag and cut a corner off, then pipe the prune butter into the cookie depression. Otherwise you have to use two spoons and it gets all over your fingers...yuk, yuk, although you can lick it off...yum.

Kisses

INGREDIENTS: 1/2 lb. unsalted butter (2 sticks)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, divided use
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1-1/2 cups finely ground walnuts
1 cup Lekvar or other tart jam

DIRECTIONS: Have all ingredients at room temperature before starting. In medium bowl, beat together the softened butter and sugar till smooth and fluffy. Separate eggs. Add the yolks to the sugar/butter mixture and beat till well incorporated. Stir in the flour and salt. Refrigerate dough for one hour or more. (It will keep in fridge for several days.) When ready to bake, take dough out of fridge and let sit on counter for 15-30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Prepare baking sheets with parchment. Whisk the egg whites in a small bowl with about 1/4 cup water. Roll dough into 1" balls. (See photo below.) I used my round measuring teaspoon for this and lined up all the balls at once. I had an assembly line going: the finely ground nuts were in a pie plate; the egg whites were whipped with water in a bowl; the Lekvar was in a plastic bag with the corner cut; and the dough balls were lined up.

After you get enough dough balls for one cookie sheet, dip them in the egg white mixture, then drop them on the pie plate with the nuts. The pie plate should hold one cookie sheet full of dough balls, so get them all in there before you start rolling them. Otherwise, you will get nuts in the egg whites when you go back and forth. Roll the balls in the nuts so they are covered all around, then put them on the lined cookie sheets. With your thumb, make a depression in each cookie, and fill with some Lekvar. Bake about 13-16 minutes (mine took 15 minutes) or till cookies are set. When they come out of the oven, pipe some more Lekvar in center of each cookie. (It works better if you do this in two stages; trust me on this one.)

Lekvar filling

INGREDIENTS: 1 10-oz. bag of pitted prunes (2 cups)
1/2 cup apple juice concentrate
1/2 cup water
1 tsp. grated lemon rind
3 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/4 cup sugar

DIRECTIONS: Simmer all ingredients covered on stove in small pot for 1 hour, until very soft and most of water is evaporated, stirring as needed. If necessary, uncover pot during last 5-10 minutes to facilitate evaporation. Remove from heat and mash with fork or spoon. This will keep in the fridge for several months in a glass jar. It's delicious with cream cheese on bagels, toast, muffins, or breads. This recipe will yield approx. 2 cups, enough for 2 recipes of Kisses.

AMARETTO BUTTER BALLS

It's time to bake Christmas cookies. I started with these little goodies that I made for the first time last Christmas. The recipe is from allrecipes.com, and it was submitted by Michele O'Sullvain. It was rated 4 out of 5 by 10 members. Although the chopped nuts are optional, I think they really add a lot. When making any of these butter balls, you must shake them in powdered sugar when they come out of the oven, and then again after they have cooled completely. If you wait till the cookies are cool to shake them in the sugar, it won't stick. If you only coat them once, the first coat will disappear. I freeze my cookies and then take them out when I want them. They thaw quickly, and they stay fresher in the freezer. The only thing I added to this recipe was 1/2 tsp. almond extract to accentuate the almond flavors. These are easy and pretty fast. The cookie itself is not sweet, but when you add the two coats of powdered sugar, it's just right. They're very tender because of the butter and the nuts, so handle carefully.

Amaretto Butter Balls
INGREDIENTS: 3/4 cup finely chopped almonds (optional)
1 cup butter
1/2 cup 10 X sugar
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour, lightly spooned and swept
1/2 tsp. salt (I used sea salt -- it has minerals)
1/2 tsp. almond extract
1/4 cup amaretto liqueur (I used Bols Creme de Noyaux -- probably about
20 years old)
1/2 cup - 1 cup 10X sugar for rolling

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Have all ingredients at room temperature before starting. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar until smooth. Stir in the flour and salt and blend well, then mix in the liqueur and extract. Fold in the chopped almonds if desired. Roll the dough into walnut-sized balls. (I used a rounded measuring teaspoon.) Place the cookies 2 inches apart on the parchment-lined cookie sheet.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, or till cookies are set and begin to crack. (Mine took 12 minutes, and I tested them with a toothpick in the center, just like for a cake.) Remove cookies from oven and let them cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing them to a wire rack. Before setting them on the wire rack, carefully roll them in powdered sugar. (They are tender and can break easily.) After cookies are completely cool, roll them again in powdered sugar.