Festive Red and Green Cherry Slices

Here's a bonus cookie video for you to enjoy!

The ingredient list for making red and green cherry slices:

*Please note that the exact measurements along with a "shop the recipe" feature from Instacart and Walmart is available inside the printable recipe card.

Ingredient information:

POWDERED SUGAR - You'll need 1 cup of confectioners' sugar (powdered sugar), sifted to remove all the lumps. I use a fine mesh sieve for sifting. It works great.

BUTTER - I used salted butter because you can leave it on the counter and always have it ready for baking and cooking. You may use unsalted butter if you prefer, but take it out of the fridge to soften for at least 1 hour before starting. You'll need 1 cup of butter (2 sticks).

PECANS - You can purchase chopped pecans or chop them yourself. I typically like to chop them myself because I can control how finely they're chopped, and because it's considerably cheaper than purchasing pre-chopped nuts. This recipe calls for 1 cup of chopped pecans.

ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR - The original recipe called for 2¼ cups of sifted flour. I used unbleached all-purpose flour. Having said that, if you watch our YouTube video and thoroughly read through this entire article (see tips and tricks for recipe success), you'll know that I found the dough for these cookie slices far too dry and crumbly, resulting in my changing direction and pressing the dough into a jelly roll pan, as opposed to rolling the dough into logs and slicing it. *Important Note* - In the recipe card, I'm sharing the exact same ingredient quantities called for in the original recipe, but please be aware if you'd like to roll and slice these cookies (as initially intended), I recommend cutting the flour to 2 cups.

EGG - A large egg (at room temperature) is needed for this recipe. To quickly bring a cold egg to room temperature, fully submerge the egg (or eggs) in warm water for 3-4 minutes, and viola, room-temperature eggs!

VANILLA EXTRACT - Pure vanilla extract is always the best choice for premium flavor. Pure vanilla bean paste may be substituted if desired.

SALT - Kosher salt is always my go-to salt for cooking and baking. Please see the gray box below for additional information if you choose to use iodized table salt.

RED AND GREEN CANDIED CHERRIES - Candied cherries can be found in the produce and or the baking aisle of the grocery store. They're primarily seen around holiday time but available online throughout the year. You'll need 1 cup of green candied cherries and one cup of red.

*Important Note—If using table salt instead of kosher salt, please cut back on the amount of salt called for in the recipe card by half because they measure differently due to grain size.

Kitchen tools and equipment needed:

• rimmed baking sheet (13" x 9")
• hand blender to stand mixer
• mixing bowls
• nut chopper (optional)
• fine mesh sieve
• silicone spatula
• wooden spoon
• measuring cups and spoons
• kitchen scale (optional)
• kitchen timer
• bench scrape (for easily cutting cookies)

How this recipe came to be:

This recipe came from an Old-Fashioned Candy Cookbook (well, more of a pamphlet, really) that I purchased many years ago on a trip to St. Louis. The cookbook was published by Bear Wallow Books, and I've just recently started cooking from it.

A few recipes I've tried so far have been the Old-Fashioned Apple Chews, which was a complete success.

The other recipe I've tried (besides this one today) was for Vermont Maple Creams, but this particular recipe was (for me) a complete disaster, and hence, you won't be seeing it here on the blog until I try it again and figure out what went wrong. LOL

Can maraschino cherries be used in place of candied cherries?

They can, but only if they've been thoroughly dried and chopped, and they only come in one color...red.

Candied cherries (used in this recipe) are sticky and dry with no liquid to speak of, and they're available in both red and green.

My tips and tricks for recipe success:

• These cherry slices are incredibly delicious but crumbly. Handle them with care.
• I found that the best way to slice these cookies, to avoid drag and too much friction, is to use a bench scraper and cut the cookies in one smooth motion by pushing down on the scraper and not slicing.
• Also, when you watch the video we shot for this recipe, you'll see that I had to pivot from what the original recipe called for and press the cookie dough into a buttered 13" x 9" jelly roll pan because the dough was so crumbly I knew I wouldn't be successful at rolling the dough into logs for slicing.
• It wasn't an ideal situation, but because of this method of pressing the dough into the pan and because their final flavor was quite delicious, I decided to publish the recipe (using my pressed, jelly-roll method of baking) even though it isn't quite what the original recipe called for. So is life in the kitchen, right?
• *SPECIAL NOTE - Adding 1-2 tablespoons of cold water to the crumbly cookie dough and mixing it with your hands (not shown, or in the original cookbook recipe) will help tremendously with the texture of the dough so it isn't quite so dry and crumbly. This is a step I did not do, but it's a tip that I know would have been helpful.
• Oh, and let's not forget the extra melted butter I used to brush over the dough before baking. I did that to add extra moisture to the crumbly dough and, well, for extra buttery flavor. YUMMY!!

Festive Red and Green Cherry Slices Video:

Can these cookies be frozen after baking?

Yes, but handle them gingerly, as they're fragile and crumbly. Store them in layers in an airtight freezer container and freeze for up to 4 months.

Can the dough be frozen before baking?

If you'd like to make the dough in advance and freeze it until you're ready to press and bake, freezing it is a great way to go.

I suggest dividing the dough in half and then wrap each half well in plastic wrap. Store the wrapped dough inside a zip-top freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months.

How do you store cherry slices after baking?

Store the baked cherry slices in layers in an airtight container at room temperature for 7 days or in the refrigerator for 14 days.

Add in or swap out suggestions:

Feel free to swap any nut for the chopped pecans (almonds, walnuts, or hazelnuts would be delicious) if you're not a fan of pecans. OR you can omit the nuts entirely.

If you are swapping almonds for pecans, you may also want to add a slight touch (¼-½ teaspoon) of almond extract to really drive home that almond flavor. Or maybe that's just me!

Dried fruit of any kind may be substituted (or added to) these cherry slices. If you decide to add more dried fruit, I recommend cutting back on the candied cherries to make room for the extra fruit.

How many cookie slices does this recipe make?

I cut my slices into small bars and got approximately 48 cookies. That said, you can cut your cherry slices however you see fit, but be aware that the recipe card's calorie count and nutritional information will be different...but who cares? It's the holidays, and calories don't count! LOL. JK.

What do candied cherry slices taste like?

After our first bite, my husband and I agreed that their flavor is similar to pecan crescent (i.e., snowball) cookies or Mexican wedding cookies.

The only difference is that the candied cherries give a slight sweetness, a bit of chew to the texture, and, of course, a festive holiday look!

Can gluten-free flour be used to make these cherry cookie bars?

I've honestly not tried it, but I don't see why it wouldn't work. I've heard many good things about the cup-for-cup gluten-free replacement mix, so if you're familiar with it, why not give it a go?!

I sincerely hope you'll enjoy making (and eating) these colorful red and green candied cherry cookie bars as much as I've enjoyed bringing them to you!

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