Cherry–Almond Star Cookies

Ingredients

• 3 cups flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• ¹⁄₂ tsp. kosher salt
• 12 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• ³⁄₄ cup almond paste
• 2 eggs
• ¹⁄₄ cup heavy cream
• 1 tbsp. kirsch
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• Maraschino cherries

Instructions

1. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl; set aside. In a medium bowl, beat butter and sugar on medium-high speed of a mixer until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes; set aside. In a large bowl, beat almond paste on medium-high speed of a mixer until smooth; add ¹⁄₄ of the butter-sugar mixture and beat until smooth. Add remaining butter-sugar mixture and beat until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, until evenly combined. Add cream, kirsch, and vanilla, and beat until smooth. Add dry ingredients and beat until just combined.
2. Transfer dough to a piping bag fitted with a ¹⁄₂" star tip, and pipe 2" mounds of dough onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets, spaced 2" apart. Halve maraschino cherries, and place a cherry half over the center of each cookie; chill cookies for 30 minutes.
3. Heat oven to 375°. Bake cookies, rotating baking sheets top to bottom and front to back halfway through cooking, until lightly browned, about 14 minutes. Let cool before serving.