Maraschino Cherry and Almond Biscotti
Every year I make this sweet little cream cheese cookie with a cherry half on top. It is an old Pennsylvania recipe that I make during the holidays without fail, except for this year.
I did, however, buy the ingredients to make these cookies, which included maraschino cherries. You know, the glass jar filled with ruby red cherries that glisten in their sugary sweetness. Long stems and future sundae toppers/Shirley Temple makers. You can’t really find them in the same place at grocery stores…some are with the ice cream toppings and some are in the baked good aisle and some you just have to stop and ask the clerks to find.
I know that artificially red colored anything is bad. I know it is not for the every day experience. I also know, when making these cookies I had at least one cherry while I was chopping them up.
I am a 1972 born and raised human. I never wore a seat belt as a child. I sat in the front seat, breathed in an abundance of second hand smoke, and never wore a helmet while bicycle riding until I was nineteen. I lived in a time where my parents had no idea where I was during the summer from lunch until street lights came on. So, a red maraschino cherry was definitely a part of my childhood. Along with slush puppies, striped knee socks, games of four squares, and feathered hair. Throw Fonzie in there, Love Boat, and Saturday morning cartoons, you now see a glimpse into my childhood.
Fast forward; I have used a seatbelt every time I enter a car since the late 80’s. My children wear bicycle helmets, and we do not find ourselves around much second hand smoke. We are pretty boring. I’m thrilled with this. The internet, laptops, cell phones, have invaded our lives, and with them, different dangers.
I do still buy maraschino cherries. They are just a little sentimental part of my life that I keep in the pantry. I haven’t made a Shirley Temple, I don’t think, in the last ten years. We don’t even have ice cream sundaes often, but I did make these cookies, and they are delicious.
Almond and cherry are like the peas and carrots of the baking world. This original recipe from www.culinaryhills.com not only incorporated sliced almonds (roughly chopped) it also includes almond extract. The sweet pink color and the slight chew from the small pieces of cherry make this another visually appealing as well as tasty biscotti. I, of course, added more cherries than the original recipe. I also added a white chocolate drizzle because it looked pretty and added a little more sweet to the finished product.
I intentionally leave my biscotti with a little chew to them, as I don’t want a brick-like finished product. I do know most biscotti have the hard crunch to them and I like mine just shy of that. The final baking time determines how dry the cookies end up, so you determine that when you bake your own.
These would make a very sweet valentine cookie, and if you are going to crack open one of those jars of red wonder, why not in the name of love? You could sing Tainted Love to go with your ethical stand on red food dye? No?
If I were to mix up my cookie tray, these would be a keeper. Throw in an almond or orange with dark chocolate biscotti, or a double chocolate biscotti and you have a range of colors and flavors.
I like that biscotti keep nicely in an air tight container for more than a week, if you can keep them around that long (last time I did breakfast at school they were gone before the first lunch wave). They can nestle in an air tight container or even be frozen and keep their integrity. And I am all about integrity, especially in a cookie. Ok, more of in my humans, but if a cookie can not crumble that works too.
Sometimes we take a detour, and we find ourselves in a place we don’t expect but find pleasantly surprising. That’s where the journey with my maraschino cherries ended up. Instead of becoming a cream cheese classic, they became a biscotti that will make another appearance in my kitchen. Wherever you go, wear your seatbelt, or a helmet…we aren’t in the eighties anymore.
I hope you enjoy this recipe, and as always, thank you for coming to the table!
Chrissy
Click below for a printable recipe!
PrintMaraschino Cherry and Almond Biscotti
Original biscotti base recipe from www.culinaryhills.com (I made some minor adjustments)that incorporates sweet maraschino cherries and slivered almonds. White Chocolate drizzle gives the added layer of sweetness.
Ingredients
- ½ Cup Butter
- 1 Cup Sugar
- 2 Teaspoons Almond Extract
- 2 Eggs
- 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ Teaspoon Salt
- 3–3 1/2 Cups of Flour
- 1 Cup Maraschino Cherries, chopped
- 1 Cup Slivered Almonds, roughly chopped
Drizzle (optional)
- 1 Cup White Chocolate Chips
- 2 Tablespoons Shortening
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350*
- In a mixer, beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
- Add eggs, almond extract, and combine.
- Add baking powder, baking soda, salt to mix, then slowly add flour.
- Mix well and fold in maraschino cherries and chopped almonds.
- Transfer dough onto a lightly floured surface and shape into two logs approximately 8-10 inches long.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned.
- Remove tray from the oven and allow to cool for ten minutes.
- Slice at an angle approximately one inch thick.
- Replace biscotti on the cookie tray slice side down.
- Continue to bake for an additional 20 minutes, flipping over after approximately ten minutes to cook on both sides.
- Remove biscotti from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack completely.
Drizzle
- In a microwave safe bowl, melt white chocolate chips with 1-2 Tablespoons of shortening and drizzle on one sliced side of biscotti