Cherry Icebox Ribbon Cookies contain layers of tart sweet cherry jam in between layers of crumbly buttery shortbread cookie.
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I’m constantly on the lookout for the perfect cookie and these Cherry Icebox Ribbon Cookies are working their way to the top of my list. The sweet tart cherry jam and dried cherries pair perfectly with a buttery shortbread type cookie dough for a delicious afternoon snack.
These guys are a bit of a hassle to put together, so they’re not an everyday type of cookie, but if you want to knock someone’s socks off aesthetically, these are the cookies for you.
This recipe comes from America’s Test Kitchen with a few adjustments on my end.
Other Delicious Cookies
Ingredient List
- Sugar
- Brown Sugar
- Salt
- Unsalted Butter
- Egg Yolk
- Vanilla Extract
- Almond Extract
- All Purpose Flour
- Dried Cherries
- Cherry Jam
Tips and Tricks
You can substitute all vanilla extract instead of vanilla and almond extracts if you don’t want to buy almond.
Make sure your butter is truly room temperature. It needs to be very soft to incorporate into the dough.
The recipe calls for making the dough in a food processor, and that’s the only way I’ve ever made it, but if you don’t have a food processor, it seems as if you could just as easily make it with a hand or stand mixer.
This cookie dough is almost all butter, and as such it warms up VERY quickly as you work with it. Try washing your hands in cold water before touching the dough to keep them as cold as possible, and don’t be afraid to put the dough back in the fridge if it gets too soft.
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Chilling the Dough
Let the dough sit in the freezer for at LEAST 30 minutes before you attempt to slice the cookies. The harder the filling gets, the cleaner your cuts will be, and the less the filling will seep out of the cookies as they bake.
Leftover Cookies
Leftover cookies will last for 2-3 days stored at room temperature in an air tight container.
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Cherry Icebox Ribbon Cookies
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons packed light or dark brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into 12 pieces and softened to room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
- ⅔ cup dried cherries chopped
- 6 tablespoons cherry jam.
Instructions
- In a food processor, add white and brown sugars and salt and process until no lumps remain. Add the butter, egg yolk, vanilla and almond extracts and then process until smooth, scraping the bowl of the processor as needed.
- Add the flour, and pulse until a cohesive dough forms – about 20-30 pulses. Transfer the dough to the counter and pat it into a 5 inch square, then wrap in plastic wrap and let it sit in the fridge for at least an hour or until firm.
- While the dough rests in the fridge, make the filling. In a small sauce pan heat the chopped cherries and cherry jam over medium heat until just hot and bubbling. Scrape the cherries into another bowl and let the mixture cool completely. Once cool, process the mixture in a clean food processor until smooth. It’s okay though if you cant get it perfectly smooth. It will still be good.
- When the dough comes out of the fridge, roll it out into a 10 inch square, about ¼ inch thick, and then freeze this panel of dough for 15 minutes.
- Cut the dough into strips 2 ½ inches wide and 5 inches long, a total of 8 strips. Spread the cherry mixture evenly over 6 of the strips, and then stack the strips cherry side up, ending with a plain strip of dough.
- Wrap each stack of dough tightly in plastic wrap and freeze until very firm, at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with parchment.
- Slice the chilled dough into ¼ inch slices, and place them 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 12-14 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through baking.
- Immediately upon removal from the oven, carefully transfer the cookies to a metal cooling rack. Cool completely before eating.
- Repeat with remaining dough.
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