Holiday Hideaways
These beautiful jewels are fantastic! Holiday Hideaways have a maraschino cherry hidden away in the middle of each cookie. Then they’re covered with chocolate or vanilla bark coating. Finally, they’re sprinkled with chocolate or vanilla bark shavings. If you enjoy working with chocolate and vanilla bark you will love making these scrumptious cookies. The results are simply stunning.
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These cookies have a kooky name but they are a delicious holiday baking cookie from Taste of Home. Putting the maraschino cherries in the middle of a roll of cookie dough isn’t too difficult. Dipping the cookies in melted chocolate or vanilla bark and trying to coat well is another story. I adapted the recipe and instead of using butter flavor Crisco which has hydrogenated oil I used real butter instead.
I had to use a lot of extra butter to thin the bark enough so that it would coat the cookie. Plus, you have to keep the melted bark warm or it thickens up too much and is hard to work with. Then you must sprinkle the shavings on the cookie within about 15 seconds after placing the cookie on the waxed paper or the shavings will not adhere to the coating.
Holiday Hideaways are definitely a wonderful addition to your holiday cookie baking list. But be prepared for quite a bit more work, and this recipe only makes 2 dozen. This is one of the few recipes I recommend you DON’T double the ingredients unless you have someone to help you with everything.
Holiday Hideaways are a scrumptious cookie to bake, especially if you like the combination of chocolate and cherries. Certainly, there is a little more involved than making a regular cookie, but these are well worth it. If you’re looking for an elegant, festive cookie for holiday baking or special occasions than consider this delightful treat.
Holiday Hideaways are so festive and beautiful. They make a wonderful holiday cookie.
Each cookie is dipped in vanilla or chocolate bark and then sprinkled with vanilla or chocolate bark shavings.
Don’t Holiday Hideaways look wonderful? If you love chocolate covered cherries you will adore this cookie! These cookies are also great to give away as gifts. So pretty.
Here’s what I did.
Soften butter. Place in large mixing bowl. Add sugar, an egg and vanilla.
Add milk, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Cream ingredients with an electric mixer to combine.
Add UNBLEACHED all-purpose flour. Bleached flour toughens cookies. Stir to combine. Cover and refrigerate a few hours to make it easier to handle the dough.
Pinch off a golf ball-sized piece of dough. Flatten the dough on a counter or cookie sheet.
Drain and pat dry the maraschino cherries. Place a maraschino cherry in the middle of the dough.
Form the dough around the cherry.
Place cookies on cookie sheets that have been sprayed with cooking spray and bake about 10-12 minutes at 350. My oven took about 16 minutes.
Allow cookies to cool completely.
While cookies are cooling, grate the vanilla and chocolate bark into separate bowls to sprinkle on top of the cookies. Set aside.
Combine butter and vanilla bark in small saucepan and heat through to melt completely.
Add more butter if the mixture seems too thick.
Melt butter and chocolate bark until smooth. Add more butter if it seems too thick. Place saucepan on counter. You will have to work fast.
Dip cookie into chocolate sauce. Rotate the cookie in the chocolate with a pair of tongs.
Place chocolate covered cookie on waxed paper and sprinkle with vanilla bark shavings. The coating dries really fast. Add the shavings quickly! Allow cookies to set.
Dip the cookies into the vanilla bark.
Set dipped cookie on waxed paper. Quickly sprinkle chocolate shavings over top of dipped cookie.
This recipe only makes 2 dozen cookies. 12 chocolate and 12 vanilla. These cookies are a lot of work, but the taste of Holiday Hideaways is heavenly. If you like vanilla covered cherries you will love this cookie!
These plump Holiday Hideaway cookies are so delicious with that maraschino cherry hidden away in the middle! We love Holiday Hideaways and are sure your family will enjoy these spectacular cookies too.
Don’t you just want to eat a handful right now? You can also use finely diced pecans on top of the vanilla bark-coated cookies if you prefer.
Holiday Hideaways are a real delight.
Here’s the recipe.
HOLIDAY HIDEWAYS
(Recipe adapted from Taste of Home Cookbook 1998)
Holiday Hideaways
Equipment
- 2 18x26" cookie sheet pans
- 1 large mixing bowl
- 1 electric mixer
- 3 wooden spoons
- 1 spatula
- waxed paper
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- 2 medium sauce pans
- 1 nut chopper if you want diced pecans on top of the cookies
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 large egg
- 1 tbsp. 2% milk
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 cups UNBLEACHED all-purpose flour bleached flour toughens baked goods
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 24 maraschino cherries well drained, about one 10-oz. jar
- 12 oz. white confectionery coating divided
- 12 tbsp. butter melted (3/4 cup or 1 1/2 sticks)
- 12 oz. dark chocolate confectionary coating
- pecans Finely chopped, for topping, if desired
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, cream sugar, butter, egg, milk, vanilla, salt, baking soda, and baking powder with an electric mixer.
- Add flour and stir with a wooden spoon until well combined.
- Chill dough for a few hours to make for easier handling.
- Form 2 teaspoonfuls of dough into a ball.
- Flatten ball and place a cherry in the center; shape dough around cherry.
- Repeat with remaining dough and cherries.
- Place balls 2 inches apart on greased baking sheets.
- Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes or until set and edges are lightly browned. (Mine took about 16 minutes).
- Rotate cooke sheets on oven racks after six minutes of baking time.
- Cool 1 minute before removing to wire racks to cool completely.
- Grate 2-oz. white confectionery coating; set aside.
- Grate 2-oz. chocolate confectionery coating; set aside.
- Melt remaining white coating with 6 tbsp. of butter in medium saucepan over low heat.
- In a separate saucepan, melt dark coating with remaining butter over low heat
- (Use more butter if you need to make the bark thin enough to coat the cookie well.)
- Dip half the cookies into white coating; place on waxed paper.
- Sprinkle with grated chocolate bark or pecans.
- Dip remaining cookies in dark coating; place on waxed paper.
- Sprinkle with grated white coating.
- Store in a covered container in the refrigerator.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Taste of Home.
© Can’t Stay Out of the Kitchen
Nutrition
- ¾ cup sugar
- 3/4 cup butter, softened
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp. milk
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 2 ¼ cups [url href=”http://www.goldmedalflour.com/” target=”_blank” title=”gold medal flour”]Gold Medal[/url] UNBLEACHED all-purpose flour (bleached flour toughens baked goods)
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- ½ tsp. salt
- 24 maraschino cherries, well drained (about 1 10-oz. jar)
- 12-oz. white confectionery coating, divided
- 12 tbsp. butter, melted, divided
- 12-oz. dark chocolate confectionary coating
- Finely chopped pecans, if desired
- In a mixing bowl, cream sugar, butter, egg, milk, vanilla, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.
- Add flour and stir with a wooden spoon to combine.
- Chill dough for a few hours to make for easier handling.
- Form 2 teaspoonfuls of dough into a ball.
- Flatten ball and place a cherry in the center; shape dough around cherry.
- Repeat with remaining dough and cherries.
- Place balls 2 inches apart on greased baking sheets.
- Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes or until set and edges are lightly browned. (Mine took about 16 minutes).
- Cool 1 minute before removing to wire racks to cool completely.
- Grate 2-oz. white confectionery coating; set aside.
- Grate 2-oz. chocolate confectionery coating; set aside.
- Melt remaining white coating with 6 tbsp. of butter; melt dark coating with remaining butter.
- (Use more butter if you need to make the bark thin enough to coat the cookie well.)
- Dip half the cookies into white coating; place on waxed paper.
- Sprinkle with grated chocolate bark or pecans.
- Dip remaining cookies in dark coating; place on waxed paper.
- Sprinkle with grated white coating.
- Store in a covered container in the refrigerator.
Take a plate of these tasty treats to your office and they will vanish in no time!
Don’t you want to sink your teeth in one of these amazing cookies?
Take your choice: chocolate or vanilla covered cherry cookies!
You may also enjoy these delicious recipes!
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Surprises
Holiday Hideaways
Equipment
- 2 18×26" cookie sheet pans
- 1 large mixing bowl
- 1 electric mixer
- 3 wooden spoons
- 1 spatula
- waxed paper
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- 2 medium sauce pans
- 1 nut chopper if you want diced pecans on top of the cookies
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 large egg
- 1 tbsp. 2% milk
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 cups UNBLEACHED all-purpose flour bleached flour toughens baked goods
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 24 maraschino cherries well drained, about one 10-oz. jar
- 12 oz. white confectionery coating divided
- 12 tbsp. butter melted (3/4 cup or 1 1/2 sticks)
- 12 oz. dark chocolate confectionary coating
- pecans Finely chopped, for topping, if desired
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, cream sugar, butter, egg, milk, vanilla, salt, baking soda, and baking powder with an electric mixer.
- Add flour and stir with a wooden spoon until well combined.
- Chill dough for a few hours to make for easier handling.
- Form 2 teaspoonfuls of dough into a ball.
- Flatten ball and place a cherry in the center; shape dough around cherry.
- Repeat with remaining dough and cherries.
- Place balls 2 inches apart on greased baking sheets.
- Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes or until set and edges are lightly browned. (Mine took about 16 minutes).
- Rotate cooke sheets on oven racks after six minutes of baking time.
- Cool 1 minute before removing to wire racks to cool completely.
- Grate 2-oz. white confectionery coating; set aside.
- Grate 2-oz. chocolate confectionery coating; set aside.
- Melt remaining white coating with 6 tbsp. of butter in medium saucepan over low heat.
- In a separate saucepan, melt dark coating with remaining butter over low heat
- (Use more butter if you need to make the bark thin enough to coat the cookie well.)
- Dip half the cookies into white coating; place on waxed paper.
- Sprinkle with grated chocolate bark or pecans.
- Dip remaining cookies in dark coating; place on waxed paper.
- Sprinkle with grated white coating.
- Store in a covered container in the refrigerator.
1 Comments
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November 22, 2013 at 10:51 am
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