Candied Cherry Shortbread Cookies

Who says kids won’t eat green food? Candied cherry shortbread cookies that are filled with green candied cherries and have a candy-dipped bottom. They may look simple, but the buttery shortbread pairs perfectly with the vanilla candy melts for a lightly sweetened cookie the kids are sure to love!

For as much as I like a rich, chocolatey, caramel-dripping dessert, one of the flavors that I can never get enough of is simple shortbread.

Store-bought shortbread cookies are great dipped in milk or eaten with a cup of hot coffee. But do you know how to make shortbread cookies from scratch? The simple shortbread recipe I have for you today can be made with just 5 ingredients. The cookies are thick, buttery and just lightly sweet. I love their tenderness compared to the crisp store-bought variety.

You can use this basic shortbread cookie recipe and add in whatever your favorite ingredients are such as nuts, chocolate chips or cherries. We decided to make candied cherry shortbread cookies for the upcoming St. Patrick’s Day holiday. We took green candied cherries, chopped them and added them to the shortbread dough. Then, after the cookies were baked, we dipped the bottoms of the cookies in green melted Wilton candy melts and then sprinkled green nonpareils on the bottom to boost that green color.

Betcha your kids won’t mind eating this green food.

And think of how cute they’d be at Christmas dipped in red candy melts? Or for Easter dipped in yellow candy melts with pink sprinkles? The possibilities are endless.

Q: Do you love the simple flavor of shortbread or do you prefer sweeter, richer desserts?

Cherry Shortbread Cookies

4.67 from 3 votes

Candied Cherry Shortbread Cookies have a simple sugar cookie flavor, but dipping them in green candy melts makes them pop! Perfect for St. Patrick's Day.

Servings 28 cookies

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 12 minutes minutes

Total Time 27 minutes minutes

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Ingredients

 

• 1 cup butter softened
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 6 ounces candied green cherries chopped
• 8 ounces green Wilton candy melts if desired
• 1/2 cup green nonpareils if desired

Instructions

 

• In a medium-size bowl, cream together the butter and powdered sugar. Add the egg and vanilla. Mix well. Add the flour and mix until combined. Mix in the chopped cherries.
• Divide the dough in two and roll each piece into a log that is about 2 1/2" in diameter. Wrap the log in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
• Remove the plastic wrap and slice the dough into 1/2" thick slices.
• Place the dough slices on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Bake at 325 degrees for 12-13 minutes.
• While the cookies are cooling, melt 8 ounces of Wilton candy melts according to package directions.
• Pour some green nonpareil sprinkles on a plate. Dip the bottoms of the cooled cookies in the melted candy. Let the excess chocolate drip off, then carefully dip the coated cookie bottom in sprinkles. Place the decorated cookie on wax paper to set.
• Repeat with the remaining cookies.
• Store in an airtight container.

Nutrition

Serving: 39g | Calories: 167kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 9g

Author Julie Clark

Course Cookies

Cuisine American

Calories 167

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