Cherry-Almond Cookies

Ingredients

• 125 grams all-purpose flour I use Gold Medal unbleached
• 40 grams finely chopped dried sour cherries
• 32 grams finely chopped almonds
• ¼ teaspoon table salt
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter melted; I use Land O Lakes
• 75 grams granulated sugar
• ½ egg separated
• ½ teaspoon almond extract, plus a scant ¼ teaspoon rosewater

Instructions

1. Whisk flour, cherries, salt, and baking powder together in bowl. In a second bowl, whisk melted butter, sugar, egg yolk, and extract(s) until very smooth. Add flour mixture and stir with rubber spatula or wooden spoon until well combined (dough will be loose). Let dough rest until firm, about 5 minutes.
2. Divide dough in half and roll each half into log that is 1¼ inches in diameter and about 10½ inches long. Wrap logs tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour or up to 3 days.
3. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350°F. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
4. Slice logs into ¼-inch-thick rounds and space 1 inch apart on prepared sheets. Let rest at room temperature for 10 minutes. Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until puffed and tops look dry but centers are still very soft, 10 to 12 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking.
5. Let cookies cool on sheet for 10 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and let cool completely, about 30 minutes. Serve. (Cookies can be stored at room temperature for up to 10 days.)

Notes

22 January 2026: This is based on the Cook’s Illustrated recipe video above, and as such also based on their apricot-pistachio cookie recipe, but with a few tweaks. I’ve added actual almonds into the dough (the original recipe uses only the almond extract), and I also added a hint of rosewater. They baked perfectly in 11 minutes on rack 2, just like the apricot-pistachio cookies. I baked 12 at a time on 9” x 13” baking sheets lined with a single sheet of parchment. This time I got 32 cookies.