Maraschino Cherry and White Chocolate Chip Cookies

The week after Thanksgiving in this house is turkey soup week. It is not optional. The twenty-two-pound carcass goes in the biggest pot I own the Friday after Thanksgiving with an onion and three carrots and a bay leaf and enough water to cover, and it simmers for four hours, and what comes out is a stock so dark and rich that it makes the broth-based soups of the rest of the year look like they have been watered down, which they have. I portioned twelve quarts of stock into freezer bags and made two immediate pots of turkey noodle soup, one for Friday night and one for Saturday, because this family will eat turkey noodle soup for three days after Thanksgiving and consider the holiday fully honored only when the carcass is accounted for.

Christmas is in four weeks and the planning begins. I have learned to approach Christmas the way I approach Thanksgiving: with a spreadsheet, a timeline, and the conviction that anything that can be made in advance should be made in advance. Cookie dough: frozen in rolls, to be sliced and baked in December. Pie crusts: already done from Thanksgiving. Fudge: made mid-December, kept in the refrigerator. The gift wrapping spreadsheet, which Brandon will not look at but which I showed him anyway, lists every gift for every person with its current status: purchased, wrapped, hidden, deployed.

Lily asked this week when Santa starts watching. I said: he watches all year, but he pays most attention in December. She said: does he watch when you are in the bathroom? I said: no, he is respectful. She said: good. She seemed genuinely relieved by this information and went back to her art project, which appears to be a series of drawings of horses. She has been drawing horses for three weeks. I do not know where horses came from. I have not asked. Some things do not need a source, they just appear, and then you provide paper and markers and stay out of the way.

The turkey soup is handled, the carcass is honored, and now my attention turns fully to December—and the first item on the Christmas timeline is cookie dough in the freezer. These maraschino cherry and white chocolate chip cookies are the ones I roll into logs every year and wrap in plastic, because on a Tuesday in mid-December when Lily needs cookies for something and I have forty-five minutes, I want to slice them cold and slide them into the oven without thinking. They are red and white and completely festive, and they require zero effort on the day you actually need them, which is the only kind of Christmas cookie I have time for anymore.

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 12 min | Total Time: 32 min (plus 1 hour chilling) | Servings: 36 cookies

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup white chocolate chips
3/4 cup maraschino cherries, drained, patted dry, and roughly chopped

Instructions

Drain and dry cherries. Place chopped maraschino cherries on a layer of paper towels and press firmly to remove as much moisture as possible. This step keeps the dough from getting sticky and the cookies from spreading too thin.
Whisk dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
Cream butter and sugars. In a large bowl, beat softened butter with granulated sugar and brown sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Add eggs and extracts. Beat in eggs one at a time, then mix in vanilla and almond extracts until fully incorporated.
Combine wet and dry. Reduce mixer speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture, mixing just until no dry streaks remain. Do not overmix.
Fold in mix-ins. Using a rubber spatula, fold in white chocolate chips and the dried maraschino cherries until evenly distributed throughout the dough.
Shape into logs for freezing. Divide dough in half. Roll each half into a log about 2 inches in diameter on a sheet of plastic wrap, wrap tightly, and twist the ends to seal. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or freeze for up to 3 months.
Bake. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375°F. Slice logs into rounds about 1/2 inch thick and place 2 inches apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake 10–12 minutes, until edges are just set and centers look barely done. They firm up as they cool.
Cool. Let cookies rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Cool completely before storing.

Nutrition (per serving)

Maraschino Cherry and White Chocolate Chip Cookies — The Make-Ahead Christmas Cookie That Lives in My Freezer