V- here. In honor of Valentine’s Day, I made some very special cookies Sunday. They are called 40 Winks. They are little round mounds of cookie goodness topped with a pink frosting and a secret red surprise inside.
I made these cookies often as my kids were growing up and I am still making them now. They are just a really different cookie.
I believe the recipe original came from a vintage edition of Betty Crocker’s Cooky Book
40 Winks
adapted from Betty Crocker’s Cooky Book
40 Maraschino Cherries (most of 16 ounce jar)
1 cup butter
2 teaspoons almond extract
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
3 3/4 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Icing:
2 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
about 2 tablespoons milk or cherry juice
Drain cherries well and set them on paper towels.
Cream butter, sugar and almond until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Slowly add to creamed mixture, beating just until blended. Gather the dough, wrap it in waxed paper, chill at least 1 hour.
Divide dough in half and then each half into 20 pieces. Wrap a cherry in each piece. Bake on lightly greased cookie sheet for 10-12 minutes at 375 degrees. Cool and frost.
