What says Christmas more than a beautiful red poinsettia. I continue to buy them every year, they just make everything more Christmas-like. I even plant them outside when Christmas is over. Here in Florida they continue to grow long after the holidays. We’ve had them get pretty big too, until the landscapers did something and killed it. I think they poisoned it or something but I can’t prove it. Anyway…When I saw this recipe it sounded really cool. I could not find a picture however and I have not made them yet. So you can use your imagination on it until I bake some and post the photo. They are a pretty simple cookie to make also. You can make the dough ahead of time and use it later.

INGREDIENTS:

¾ cup (1½ sticks) butter, softened

¾ cup sugar

1 egg

2 tablespoons water

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2½ cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

1 cup butterscotch chips, divided

½ cup sweetened flaked coconut

1 jar (4 ounces) red candied cherries

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350º.

2. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, cream together the butter, sugar, egg, water, and vanilla until well blended. Gradually add the flour, baking powder and salt until well combined.

3. Stir in ¾ cup butterscotch chips and the coconut. Cover and chill at least one hour.

4. Cut the candied cherries in half. Then cut each half into 3 slices.

5. Shape the dough into 1-inch balls and place on ungreased baking sheets. Flatten each ball and place a butterscotch chip in the center of each. Arrange 5 cherry slices in a circular pattern around each butterscotch chip to resemble the pattern of a poinsettia.

6. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the cookies are firm but not brown. Cool the cookies for about 1 minutes on the baking sheets then transfer them to wire racks to cool completely.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies