Grandma Katherine's Cherry Winks
Makes 6 dozen
Grandma Katherine (Bimpy's wife) was a Holiday Cookie Queen. She had so many iconic recipes, and I am just beginning to share them all with you. Her "Cherry Winks" get their name because she would slice her cherries into quarters, which, when placed on top of the corn flake encrusted cookie, resembled a wink. As you can see from my photos, my recipe calls for placing an entire cherry on each cookie, because I am, if anything, extra. In case you are wondering, I did consider changing the name of the cookie to "Cherry Intense Stares" but it just didn't have the same ring...
WHAT YOU'LL NEED:
2 ½ cups sifted flour*
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¾ cup softened unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons whole milk**
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped almonds or walnuts***
1 cup finely chopped pitted dates
⅓ cup finely chopped maraschino cherriesPLUS 72 whole maraschino cherries, stemmed (16 oz jar has 36 cherries)
⅔ cup crushed corn flakes
2 ½ cups corn flakes crushed
*Gluten free All-Purpose 1:1 flour can be used.
**Non-dairy milks can be used.
***Nuts can be eliminated entirely.
WHAT YOU'LL DO:
Sift together 2 ½ cups flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon kosher salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, using a hand blender, or mixing by hand, blend ¾ cup softened unsalted butter, 1 cup granulated sugar and 2 eggs and beat well. Stir in 2 tablespoons whole milk and 1 teaspoon vanilla by hand.
Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix well.
Add 1 cup dates, ⅔ cup crushed corn flakes, 1 cup chopped almonds or walnuts and ⅓ cup maraschino finely chopped cherries, finely chopped dates and mix well by hand.
Shape dough into balls using 1 level tablespoon of dough for each cookie. Roll balls in corn flakes to coat them. Using your thumb, leave a print in the top of the cookie. Top each cookie with 1 whole maraschino cherry and bake 375° about 12 minutes or until brown.
Enjoy!
For information on how to store your cookies, head to Grossy's Guide to Holiday Cookies.
Make it step-by-step with me below!
1. Sift together 2 ½ cups flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon kosher salt.
2. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, using a hand blender, or mixing by hand, blend ¾ cup softened unsalted butter, 1 cup granulated sugar and 2 eggs and beat well.
4. Stir in 2 tablespoons whole milk and 1 teaspoon vanilla by hand.
5. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix well by hand.
6. Add 1 cup dates, ⅔ cup crushed corn flakes, 1 cup chopped almonds or walnuts and ⅓ cup maraschino finely chopped cherries, finely chopped dates.
7. Mix well by hand until evenly combined.
8. Shape dough into balls using 1 level tablespoon of dough for each cookie.
9. Roll balls in corn flakes to coat them. Using your thumb, leave a print in the top of the cookie. Top each cookie with 1 whole maraschino cherry.
10. Bake 375° about 12 minutes or until brown.
Enjoy!