Cherry Almond Kiss Cookies

I love making Christmas cookies but get tired of making the same ones year after year. My family likes tradition and by the time they are two most of my kids can tell you what should be on the cookie plate for each holiday, what dishes should be on the table, and if I forget or try to do something different, you can bet I hear about it.

I can add to the basic stuff but never, never take away and do something different.

The problem is that when I add something new it becomes part of the repertoire, and must be served year after year after year after year….

These are a twist on traditional kiss cookies. I wanted something…oh..I don’t know, softer and gentler. Something festive in a more subdued way. With all of the different Hershey’s Kiss flavors these days it is pretty easy to come up with a totally new combination.

I used the cherry filled Hershey’s Kisses and flavored the dough with rose and almond. This is a fantastic combination, very subtle and yet it captures your attention like the softest whisper. They would work well for Valentine’s Day as well. You could even tint the dough to make it pink.

Almond and rose is a classic combination. Rose flavoring was particularly popular during the Victorian era and to me these would fit beautifully at a Victorian Christmas Tea.

Give them a try, see what you think. Rosewater is available at many health food and gourmet food shops. It isn’t very expensive at all and once you start working with it you will find more and more recipes to add it to.

Cherry Almond Kiss Cookies

1 cup unsalted butter

1 ½ cups sugar

2 eggs

½ tsp vanilla

1 tsp almond

1 tsp. rosewater (or more to taste)

1 tsp baking powder

2 ¾ cup flour

Colored sugar for rolling

36 unwrapped cherry chocolate kisses

Preheat the oven to 375

Mix the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs and mix in well. Add flavorings.

Mix together the flour and baking powder. Stir into the creamed mixture.

You may need to chill this for a few minutes if the dough seems too sticky.

Roll heaping teaspoonfuls of dough into a ball. Roll in sugar. Place about 2 inches apart on a silpat lined cookie sheet. Bake for 8 minutes, or until cookies are puffed and soft, but done.

Remove from the oven and, working quickly, gently push a kiss into the center of each cookie. Let cool completely.

Image(c) 2008 Marye Audet