Gluten Free Iced Cherry Ring Cookies Recipe

Gluten Free Iced Cherry Ring Cookies Recipe

Before the internet, people had to keep recipes and menu ideas somewhere – somewhere real, not virtual. For most it was a recipe box. For me it was, and is, a recipe scrapbook. The scrapbook was actually started by my mother and I love it. It is a treasure trove of magazine articles, newspaper clippings and index cards just waiting to be converted into gluten free recipes. But it is more than that, there are notes about dinner parties, recipes written on the scraps of paper and the back of envelopes, all in my Mom’s handwriting. It is also insight into my mother’s tastes and culinary aspirations. There are also some interesting attempts at complicated long division problems, presumably cutting down the serving sizes of certain recipes.

Over the years I added my own clippings, recipes and notes and it has become a journal of my life; the punch I made for my wedding is in there along with a favorite recipe for clam dip I got from my best friend in high school. Sometimes the notes include the date I made the dish, who I tried the recipe on and the results such as “so good!” or “needs more salt.”

There are arguments that I should scan all these into the computer and make a virtual scrapbook but I never will. I love holding the very piece of paper my mother wrote out her ideas for a Spanish dinner party on or the cookie recipe she clipped from the paper with full intentions of making someday.

I pulled out a clipping the other day that I never recall my mother making for “Iced Cherry Rings” – shortbread type cookie studded with candied cherries and drizzled with a sweet glaze. The date for the clipping was gone but it is obvious it was from a time when good women stayed home and baked cookies for their children to have after school. I can see why my mother, an English woman and fruitcake lover, would pull out this recipe to try. I however am not a fan of candied fruit so I used maraschino cherries, in fact I used a natural, dye and corn syrup free maraschino cherry. I cut out the center in a heart shape instead of a circle, just a little tribute to Mom. Obviously the original recipe was not gluten-free but it was easy enough to convert with the use of good quality gluten free flour and adjusting the baking time and temperature. I also added some vanilla and salt because, well, I just had to.

The dough for these cookies is really interesting; it is dry and crumbly almost like sand until you work it with your hands, then it comes together into workable dough. I love the fact that our hands literally transform ingredients into cookies.

These are charming cookies and I am happy to have finally fulfilled one of my mother’s culinary dreams.

Gluten Free Iced Cherry Ring Cookies

5 from 1 vote
Gluten Free Iced Cherry Ring Cookies Recipe
Print Recipe

Gluten Free Iced Cherry Ring Cookies Recipe

Prep Time20 mins
Cook Time15 mins
Total Time35 mins
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 15 Cookies
Calories: 147kcal
Author: Gluten Free & More

Ingredients

  • ½ cup unsalted butter - plus more for greasing the pans
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
  • cups gluten-free flour - (be sure to use one that includes either xanthan or guar gum, if not add 1 teaspoon)
  • ¼ cup maraschino cherries - dried well and chopped
  • ½ cup confectioners’ sugar
  • tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice - (more or less)
  • 2 -3 drops maraschino cherry liquid

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 2 baking sheets with butter (or line with silicone baking mats).
  • Cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg yolk, vanilla, and lemon zest, and mix well. Stir in the flour, add the cherries and mix with your hands until it forms a soft dough.
  • Lightly flour a surface, roll out the dough to a ¼ inch thickness and cut into 3 inch rounds with a cookie cutter. Cut out the center of each cookie with a 1 inch cookie cutter. Place the rings on the prepared baking sheets. Re-roll any trimmings and cut more cookies. Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 15 minutes or until they are firm and just beginning to color. Let cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
  • Mix the confectioners’ sugar with lemon juice and maraschino cherry juice until it becomes a smooth paste. It may take a little less or more lemon juice, so start with less and add a little at a time. Drizzle over the cooled cookies and let stand until the icing sets, about 30 minutes.

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts
Gluten Free Iced Cherry Ring Cookies Recipe
Amount Per Serving
Calories 147 Calories from Fat 63
% Daily Value*
Fat 7g11%
Saturated Fat 4g20%
Cholesterol 29mg10%
Sodium 2mg0%
Carbohydrates 21g7%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 13g14%
Protein 1g2%
Vitamin A 206IU4%
Vitamin C 1mg1%
Calcium 13mg1%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the blog owner’s. This blog accepts free manufacturers’ samples and forms of cash advertising, sponsorship, paid insertions or other forms of compensation. Affiliate links may be included in this post.

Disclaimer: All nutrition facts on Gluten Free & More are meant only as a guide and may differ depending on product brands used or ingredient substitutions. Some errors may occur, so you are encouraged to confirm the recipe’s ingredient and nutrition suitability for your own diet.
Have you tried this recipe? Give it a star rating and let us know your thoughts in the Ratings & Reviews section below.
Tags: Baking Cherries Cookies Glazed Heart Icing Shortbread Traditions
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  1. Julie
    July 28, 2011

    What a sweet story and recipe!

    1. July 31, 2011

      Thanks Julie!

  2. July 28, 2011

    What a beautiful looking cookie! Almost too good to eat….almost!

    1. July 31, 2011

      Thank you Angie!

  3. these look so delicious! I have a file that has al my mum’s clippings and handwritten recipes in, some her mothers too – they are the most special. Although I love browsing through the web for delicious recipes and gorgeous photos, there’s something about them they’re so…comforting :)

    1. July 31, 2011

      I so agree and a connection with the past – my mom passed away many years ago but I still have these recipes…

  4. July 28, 2011

    Natural maraschino cherries? Oh oh. That sounds dangerous. Dangerous I tell ya.

    1. July 31, 2011

      Haha – I know what you mean!

  5. July 29, 2011

    Oh, how wonderful, Carol! Both the scrapbook that has captured your and your mom’s lives and these cookies. They look simply stunning. Maybe your blog name should be Simply Stunning and Gluten Free. Seriously!

    xo,
    Shirley

    1. July 31, 2011

      Oh Shirley! See this is just one of the reasons I adore you – you say the nicest things!
      xo,
      c

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  7. August 1, 2011

    I’ve just spent the last two days clearing out a heap of cooking magazines. Before I give them the flick though I rip out any recipes that look great or inspire me. I have my mum’s box of clippings that she collected before I was even born and love to flick through them for fun and inspiration too. I guess good flavours and good ideas never go out of fashion.

  8. Pingback: Gluten Free Iced Cherry Ring Cookies | CookingPlanet

  9. These are beauuttiffulll! I dont make half as many cherry recipes as i should considering my mum adores the little things. So this recipe is going straight to the top of the to-do list :)

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