DIY Cherry Blossom Tea Cakes

Now, for something a little different than the usual sewing...

After a day of working on the fairy queen's costume, fairies are on my mind and I thought that a recipe for these delightful tea cakes (aka cookies) would tie in well!  I could see these little blooms as the perfect addition to your next fairy tea party; which, reminds me, I've been invited to the fairy camp's end of the week tea party (yay!).

(Image via: http://flowers-kid.com/japanese-cherry-blossom-flower.htm)

While I don't usually have much luck experimenting in the kitchen (I'm someone who almost always has to follow a recipe), this time, I felt like I created something worthy of sharing:

These treats were baked in honor of a friend's birthday, who let me crash at her apartment after a very late night at the museum.  Earlier, when we were making the arrangements, she told me half-jokingly to bring treats for "rent."  I then asked her what she was in the mood for, and her response was simply something with almonds and cherries, always a great combination.

At first, I was thinking cupcakes; however, after looking around at recipes on the internet, I decided upon cookies.  Not just any old cookie though, I wanted a pretty pink cookie with a flower on top!  So, starting with a plain almond cookie recipe, I threw in a few more ingredients and, voilà, cherry blossom tea cakes!

Cherry Blossom Tea Cakes

Ingredients: 

1 cup (or 2 sticks) of butter, softened at room temperature
1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar

1 egg
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1/2 (rounded) teaspoon of almond extract

2 1/2 cups of flour
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon of salt
red food coloring

1 jar of maraschino cherries (I had to buy the largest jar on the shelf so there would be enough cherries left for the cookies...)
sliced almonds (enough so that each cookie will have 5 "petals")

Directions:

Step one:  In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar.  Add in the egg and both extracts, beat well.

Step two:  Combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl.  Add slowly to wet ingredients and mix well to form a soft dough.

Step three:  To color a soft pink, split the dough into four equal portions.  Add 4-5 drops of red food coloring to each portion, cover with plastic wrap & kneed the color evenly throughout the dough.  (Great, illustrated directions here: How to Color Cookie Dough) 

Step four:  Wrap the pink dough in plastic again and chill in the refrigerator for 45 minutes to an hour to firm.

Step five:  Preheat the oven to 375F degrees.  Roll the dough into small, smooth balls.  (Optional: for white cherry blossoms and extra sweetness, roll the dough balls in powdered sugar).  Place 12 on each cookie sheet and flatten.  Then, gently press five sliced almond "petals" into the center of each cookie.  (Cherry blossoms have five petals!)    

Step six:  Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until very lightly browned on the edges.  Do not over bake.  While in the oven, drain the maraschino cherries (I dried them off with a paper towel) and cut each cherry in half.

Step seven:  Once the cookies come out of the oven, immediately transfer them to a baking rack.  Press half a cherry into the center of each flower.  Allow for at least five minutes to cool before removing the tea cakes from the baking rack to make room for the next batch.  (I then just moved the cookies to a paper towel to continue cooling.)

Yields: 36 delicious, cherry almond bites!  Enjoy!