High altitude tested, buttery cherry almond shortbread cookies made with toasted almonds, dried sweetened cherries and amaretto liqueur. This is an easy cookie recipe that you can slice and bake, or roll out and cut with cookie cutters.
You might also love these homemade pecan sandies, hazelnut shortbread Christmas cookies, and classic almond shortbread.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Easy to Make. The dough comes together quickly and easily in a food processor. And you don’t even have to roll out the dough and cut it with cookie cutters if you don’t want to, since this is an easy cookie dough to slice and bake.
Bake in Advance, Freeze for Later. If you want to make the cookies in advance, they freeze beautifully until you’re ready to serve them or put together your Christmas cookie boxes. I recommend freezing them without the icing, if you’re baking them ahead of time.
High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at a lower or higher elevation, please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for your altitude. Today’s pecan sandies will work at any altitude without adjustments, though.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
Cookies
- Almonds. For a deeper, nuttier flavor, toast the almonds first. They’ll be finely ground in your food processor to incorporate them into the cookie dough.
- All-Purpose Flour. Provides structure and strength to the cookies.
- Powdered Sugar. Sweetens the cookies, of course, and the fine texture makes a soft, tender cookie.
- Coarse Kosher Salt. Balances the sweetness and enhances the flavor the almonds
- Unsalted Butter. Adds richness, moisture and flakiness.
- Vanilla + Almond Extracts. Flavor.
- Amaretto Liqueur. This is an almond flavor liqueur that adds even more flavor to the cookies, as well as moisture to bind the dough together. If you don’t have any, or simply want to make the cookies without alcohol, you can use milk instead. Your cherry almond shortbread cookies will be great with or without the liqueur.
- Dried Sweetened Cherries. You could also use dried sweetened cranberries instead.
Icing
- Powdered Sugar. Sweetens and thickens the icing.
- Milk. Thins the icing to a drizzly consistency.
- Almond Extract.
Instructions
Toast the Almonds
- First, toast the almonds. Preheat the oven to 350 F, and place the almonds in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake for about 5-7 minutes, until fragrant, but don’t let them burn.
- Let the almonds cool completely before adding them to the dough. You don’t want hot almonds that will melt or soften the butter in the dough.
Make the Cookie Dough
- In your food processor, combine the toasted, cooled almonds with the flour, powdered sugar and salt, and pulse for about a minute until the almonds are very finely ground.
- With the processor running, drop in the pieces of cold butter, one at a time. Pulse until well distributed.
- Add the vanilla extract, almond extract, amaretto or milk, and the dried cherries, and pulse until the crumbs come together into a dough.
- Dump the dough out, and knead a few times with your hands, just to incorporate any stray floury bits, until you have a soft, supple dough. Shape the dough into a log measuring 2 inches in diameter. Wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
Slice and Bake the Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Line one large baking sheet or two smaller ones with parchment paper.
- Unwrap the dough, and use a sharp knife to slice the cookie dough into 1/4 inch thick cookies.
- Bake the cookies for about 12-14 minutes. They should be pale golden, with flaky edges. When turned over, you shouldn’t see any wet or raw dough underneath.
- Cool on the pan for 5 minutes, then carefully transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Icing
- In a bowl, stir together the powdered sugar, milk and almond extract until smooth.
- Lightly drizzle the icing over the cookies. Let the icing set before storing the cookies in an airtight container.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!
Frequently Asked Questions
How should I store cherry almond shortbread cookies?
Cooled cookies should be stored in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
Can I make these cookies or the cookie dough in advance?
These cookies can be baked in advance, and frozen (without the icing) for 3-6 months.
The cookie dough can also be made in advance, wrapped in plastic wrap, and refrigerated for up to 5 days, or frozen for 3-6 months.
Can I cut this dough with cookie cutters?
Yes. After making the dough, wrap it and chill it for 20 minutes. Then roll it out to 1/4 inch thick on a lightly floured surface and cut with cookie cutters. Bake as instructed.
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Slice and Bake Cherry Almond Shortbread Cookies
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- Food Processor
Ingredients
Cookies
- ¾ cup almonds
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- ½ cup cold, unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 2 tbsp amaretto liqueur (or milk, to keep it alcohol free)
- â…” cup dried sweetened cherries
Icing
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- 1 ½ tbsp milk
- 1 tsp almond extract
Instructions
Toast the Almonds
- First, toast the almonds. Preheat the oven to 350 F, and place the almonds in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake for about 5-7 minutes, until fragrant, but don't let them burn.
- Let the almonds cool completely before adding them to the dough. You don't want hot almonds that will melt or soften the butter in the dough.
Make the Cookie Dough
- In your food processor, combine the toasted, cooled almonds with the flour, powdered sugar and salt, and pulse for about a minute until the almonds are very finely ground.With the processor running, drop in the pieces of cold butter, one at a time. Pulse until well distributed.Add the vanilla extract, almond extract, amaretto or milk, and the dried cherries, and pulse until the crumbs come together into a dough.
- Dump the dough out, and knead a few times with your hands, just to incorporate any stray floury bits, until you have a soft, supple dough. Shape the dough into a log measuring 2 inches in diameter. Wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
Slice and Bake the Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Line one large baking sheet or two smaller ones with parchment paper.
- Unwrap the dough, and use a sharp knife to slice the cookie dough into 1/4 inch thick cookies.
- Bake the cookies for about 12-14 minutes. They should be pale golden, with flaky edges. When turned over, you shouldn't see any wet or raw dough underneath.
- Cool on the pan for 5 minutes, then carefully transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Icing
- In a bowl, stir together the powdered sugar, milk and almond extract until smooth.
- Lightly drizzle the icing over the cookies. Let the icing set before storing the cookies in an airtight container.
Notes
- Cooled cookies should be stored in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
- They can also be baked in advance, and frozen for 3-6 months.
- The cookie dough can also be made in advance, wrapped in plastic wrap, and refrigerated for up to 5 days, or frozen for 3-6 months.
Bob Nicholls
Should the almonds be with or without skins?
Heather Smoke
I never bother with removing almond skins.
sharon sp
I have some almond flour, can I use that in place of the almonds?