Pistachio and Cherry Wedding Cakes

A good friend shared this recipe with me last year. I liked the chewy tart cherries and the crunchy pistachio combination. I also thought it was a fun cookie for the holidays because of its red and green color scheme. The original production size was way to much for me, so I cut it down dramatically without any ill effects on quality.

Pistachio and Cherry Mexican Wedding Cakes
Makes about 20 cookies

1 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup powdered sugar plus more for coating
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup shelled unsalted natural pistachios, chopped
1/4 cup dried tart cherries or dried cranberries
3/4 cup + 1tablesoon sifted cake flour
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons sifted all purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 1 baking sheets.
Using electric mixer, beat butter and powdered sugar in large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla and salt, then pistachios and cherries. Using spatula, stir in all flour (do not overmix dough).

Shape dough by generous tablespoonfuls into football-shaped ovals. Place on prepared sheets, spacing 1 inch apart. Bake cookies until bottoms just begin to color, about 16 minutes.

Cool cookies on sheets 10 minutes before coating in extra powdered sugar. Pour generous amount of powdered sugar into medium bowl. Working with 1 or 2 warm cookies at a time, add cookies to bowl of sugar; gently turn to coat thickly. Transfer cookies to sheet of waxed paper. Repeat with sugar again and cool completely.

Store in airtight container at room temperature for up to 4-6 days.