Description
Sweet cherry blossom cookies blend delicate Japanese flavors with classic sugar cookie techniques. Pale pink petals and subtle almond notes create a memorable dessert for spring celebrations.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 cup (225 g / 8 oz) unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cup (150 g / 5.3 oz) granulated sugar
- 2 cups (250 g / 8.8 oz) all-purpose flour
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp almond extract
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 24 maraschino cherries, drained and patted dry
- ¼ cup (40 g / 1.4 oz) finely chopped maraschino cherries (optional)
Instructions
- Prepare Workspace: Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and line baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats, ensuring optimal baking environment.
- Create Butter Base: Utilize electric mixer to whip softened butter and granulated sugar into a light, voluminous cream, blending for 2-3 minutes until texture becomes airy and smooth.
- Develop Dough Foundation: Fold in egg and almond extract, then gently sift flour, salt, and baking powder together, integrating dry ingredients into wet mixture until a cohesive dough emerges.
- Enhance Flavor Profile: Delicately fold chopped maraschino cherries throughout the dough, distributing flavor uniformly.
- Shape and Prepare Cookies: Craft tablespoon-sized dough spheres, positioning them strategically on prepared baking sheets with adequate spacing, then tenderly press a whole maraschino cherry into each cookie’s center.
- Bake to Perfection: Slide trays into preheated oven, allowing cookies to transform for 12-14 minutes until edges develop a golden hue and bottoms achieve a delicate crispness.
- Cool and Finish: Transfer baked cookies to wire rack, permitting complete temperature reduction, then optionally adorn with a subtle glaze for enhanced visual and gustatory presentation.
Notes
- Optimize Cherry Texture: Drain maraschino cherries thoroughly on paper towels to prevent excess moisture, ensuring cookies maintain structural integrity and avoiding soggy bottoms.
- Enhance Flavor Depth: Replace standard almond extract with homemade vanilla bean extract for a more nuanced, sophisticated taste profile that complements the cherry undertones.
- Control Cookie Spread: Chill prepared dough for 30 minutes before baking to minimize excessive spreading, creating uniformly shaped cookies with clean, precise edges.
- Gluten-Free Adaptation: Substitute all-purpose flour with a 1:1 gluten-free baking blend, adding 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum to improve dough elasticity and prevent crumbling.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Desserts, Snacks
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Japanese
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 25
- Calories: 176
- Sugar: 6 g
- Sodium: 25 mg
- Fat: 10 g
- Saturated Fat: 6 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 19 g
- Fiber: 0.5 g
- Protein: 1.5 g
- Cholesterol: 30 mg