Cherry Almond Cups
Taste of Home
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"To create these attractive mini-tarts, I adapted a bar cookie recipe I had been making for the holidays for many years," writes Christine Kneebone of Hilbert, Wisconsin. "If you like almond flavor, this cookie is for you!"
SERVINGS: 36
CATEGORY: Dessert
METHOD: Baked
TIME: Prep: 25 min. + cooling Bake: 20 min./batch + cooling
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- FILLING:
- 1 can (8 ounces) almond paste, cut into cubes
- 1/4 cup butter, softened
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 18 each red and green maraschino cherries, patted dry
- TOPPING:
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 square (1 ounce) unsweetened chocolate
- 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 to 2 tablespoons milk
Directions:
In a small mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture. Roll into 1-in. balls.
Press dough onto the bottoms and up the sides of well-greased miniature muffin cups. Bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool in pans on wire racks.
In a small mixing bowl, beat almond paste, butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs. Spoon 2 teaspoonfuls into each cooled cup; top each with a cherry.
Bake at 350° for 16-18 minutes or until lightly browned and filling is set. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.
In a microwave-safe bowl, melt butter and chocolate; stir until smooth. Add the confectioners' sugar, vanilla and enough milk to achieve desired consistency. Drizzle over cookies. Yield: 3 dozen.