I made it to the farmers market last weekend for the first time in a while. I was unfamiliar with these and had to ask what they were:
The vendor told me they were jujubes. I asked him how do you eat them, and he said, “Like this,” and popped one in his mouth. Whatever. A minute or two later, another lady came up and said to him, “How do you eat these?” He said to her, “Here, try one,” and handed her a jujube. Guess how many jujubes I bought from him? If you guessed zero, you would be correct. Way to blow a sale, farmer. I will just have to imagine what they taste like, and he will just have to imagine what my money would feel like in his wallet.
Last year I posted how to make Black Cherries for Halloween. I made some last week, and used them in these Black Cherry Halloween Butter Cookies. Something a little different for Halloween, and not overly sweet. Have a safe and happy Halloween!
- 1 cup butter, softened
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 egg, separated
- 1 tablespoon half & half
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- Orange food coloring (I used ½ teaspoon Wilton concentrated paste coloring)
- 24 black maraschino cherries (approximately)
- Colored sprinkles, if desired
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar with an electric beater until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolk, half & half, and vanilla. Add flour and baking powder and gradually add to the butter mixture. Add food coloring, and beat until thoroughly combined.
- Roll about a tablespoon of the dough into a ball. Repeat with remaining dough. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Using the handle of a wooden spoon, make a hole in the top of each cookie. Place a cherry in each hole, cut side down.
- Beat egg white lightly with a fork. Using a pastry brush, brush edges of cookies with egg white and sprinkle with colored sprinkles.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until cookies are set and lightly browned on the bottom. Cool on a wire rack.
Happy Halloween!
