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| One of the last pictures taken of my Grandpa Eldon and Grandma Elaine 2006 |
Only one of my grandfathers was still alive when I was born: Grandpa Eldon.
As I mentioned in the recipe post for Grandma Gladys' Date Pinwheels, he survived polio as a child. He ranched for many years before becoming a full-time diesel mechanic.
He revealed his mechanical genius in the devices he made after my grandmother's stroke. He made a scooter for her in the early 1990s before they were marketed all over television. He rigged their back door to stay open with a switch controlled by an air compressor.
He revealed his mechanical genius in the devices he made after my grandmother's stroke. He made a scooter for her in the early 1990s before they were marketed all over television. He rigged their back door to stay open with a switch controlled by an air compressor.
He used to be the only one who could pull slivers out of my little fingers and "fix" my ouchies. He could be gruff and grumble, but he was delicate and sweet with his granddaughter. The manly mechanic also cared for his wife for 20 years after her catastrophic stroke.
Every Christmas, many of us would buy him a box of cordial cherries. He loved them.
When I modified this recipe from Hershey's, I thought of my grandfather. Inside the almond shortbread is a Hershey's Cordial Cherry Creme candy. The shortbread crumbles in your mouth and reveals the smooth chocolatey-cherry taste inside. These cookies are perfect with a cup of hot tea or a cup of steaming coffee, something Grandpa Eldon drank all of the time.
First, I put the almonds in my Vitamix and ground them into flour.
Afterward, I toasted the almond flour in the oven.
While the almonds toasted in the oven, I mixed
the butter and sugar.
After the almond flour cooled, I added it to the butter-sugar mixture.
It made an irresistible shortbread dough!
Then, I used my cookie scoop to spoon out the shortbread dough
and roll it into balls after
and roll it into balls after
I put a Hershey's Cherry Cordial Creme Kiss in the center.
A few of them leaked out chocolate and cherry creme in the oven.
I'm glad I put the parchment down!
After they had cooled slightly, I rolled the cookies
in powdered sugar.
HIDDEN KISSES COOKIES
Ingredients:
*8 oz. bag of Hershey's Cordial Creme Kisses
*1 c. butter, softened
*1/2 c. powdered sugar
*1 tsp. vanilla extract
*2 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
*1/4 tsp. salt
*3/4 c. toasted almonds, finely ground or almond meal
*Additional powdered sugar
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400F. Remove wrappers from chocolate pieces. In large mixing bowl, beat butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla until well blended.
2. Stir together flour and salt. Gradually add dry ingredients to butter mixture, beating until well blended.
3. Stir in ground almonds or almond meal until well incorporated.
4. Mold scant tablespoon dough around each chocolate piece, covering completely. Shape into balls. Place on parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes or until set.
5. Cool slightly and roll in powdered sugar. Cool completely.
Yields 4 dozen cookies.
Do you know a man who is both "manly" and a gentle caregiver?
- I'm sharing What Matthew Ate Wednesday, tomorrow, the daily diet of my vegetarian four-year old son.
- I also plan on posting the recipe for White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies, recipe #10 of my 12 Cookies of Christmas. Find the other recipes here!
