Cherry Nut Cutouts

These cookies have small pieces of dried cherries and pecans in the dough. After the cut-outs are baked, they're glazed and drizzled with chocolate.

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Ingredients:

• Cookies:
• 1/2 cup dried tart cherries
• 2 sticks (1 cup) (unsalted) butter, at room temperature  
• 1 cup superfine sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 whole egg, plus 1 yolk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups flour  
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup finely chopped pecans
• Glaze:
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon orange zest
• 1 to 2 tablespoons orange juice
• Trim:
• 1 1/4 cups semisweet chocolate morsels

Method

Soak dried cherries in very hot water about 15 minutes, drain thoroughly, chop and set aside. Place butter, sugar, and salt in bowl of electric mixer and beat until light. Beat in egg, yolk, and vanilla until fluffy. Separately combine in medium bowl the flour and baking powder. Add to egg mixture and beat on low speed just until mixed. Stir in cherries and nuts. Divide dough in half, shaping into two discs, and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Remove one disc of dough from fridge and cut in half, returning remainder to fridge. Lightly flour work surface and roll dough to 1/4 inch thick. Cut dough into desired holiday shapes using cookie cutters. Place cookies 1/2 inch apart on parchment-lined or ungreased cookie sheet. Bake until edges are golden brown, about 8-10 minutes. Cool on sheet for 1 minute, then use a thin-bladed spatula to transfer cookies to wire racks to finish cooling completely. Repeat process with remaining dough. Beat all glaze ingredients together until smooth, using amount of orange juice needed to obtain glazing consistency. When cookies are cool, spread a thin layer of glaze over each cookie and place on baking sheets. Leave cookies uncovered on counter until glaze is completely set and dry to the touch. Melt chocolate over very low heat, stirring until smooth. Cool slightly, then spoon into pastry bag fitted with a fine writing tip. Pipe thin lines of chocolate back and forth over top of each cookie. Place sheets of cookies in freezer for 10 minutes until chocolate is set. Then cookies may be stored in airtight containers in refrigerator or freezer.

Notes: This is a uniquely grown-up version of the rolled cutout cookie, marrying the rich flavors and chewy textures of orange, nuts, and dried cherry. The fragrant orange zest, bright red cherry bits and chocolate trim make this cookie very festive for the holidays.

Number of servings: 4 1/2 dozen

Submitted By: Beberman
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