fruit

spiced apple cider bundt cake with buttered bourbon glaze #bundtbakers

It’s the third Thursday of the month y’all! You (probably) know what that means!

spiced apple cider bundt cake with buttered bourbon glaze | Brooklyn Homemaker

Bundt bonanza baby! #bundtbakers is back and this month’s theme is BOOZE!!!

Now that’s my kinda theme! I knew when I joined the bundt bakers that booze was bound to turn up as a theme sooner or later, and I’ve been waiting patiently since day one. When I hosted a few months back I almost chose it myself, but I decided that I shouldn’t force it. Thankfully I didn’t have too long to wait!

I want to say a big big thank you to our host, Lauren of From Gate to Plate, and remind everyone to keep scrolling down after the recipe to see all of the beautiful booze based bundts everyone baked this month!

spiced apple cider bundt cake with buttered bourbon glaze | Brooklyn Homemaker

I wanted my bundt this month to have a nice assertively boozey flavor, but also wanted the cake to be seasonally appropriate with some kind of Autumnal produce.

After weighing several options I decided on an apple spice cake with a boozey glaze. I love the flavor of apple cider spiked with a bit of whiskey so I figured I couldn’t go wrong turning that into a cake. I opted for bourbon because it has such a nice sweet caramel-y flavor, but in a pinch you could use other whiskeys. Scotch might be a bit too smoky, though that actually could be an interesting addition.

spiced apple cider bundt cake with buttered bourbon glaze | Brooklyn Homemaker

As fate would have it, I’d have a few stumbling blocks before I’d end up with a finished cake to slice into.

Early on I had a feeling that the batter was too liquid, but I’d gotten the recipe from a trusted source so I powered through and put the cake in the oven. The minute it came out of the oven I knew it wasn’t good. The cake seemed like it had hardly risen at all, but within minutes it managed to start to sink in the center. I waited for it to cool a bit before un-molding, but the minute I lifted the pan off of the cooling rack I knew something had gone very wrong. The texture was dense and rubbery, almost flan-like, and not in a good way. I think the addition of a small amount of bourbon to the batter may have made things even worse, but I hadn’t made any serious changes or substitutions so I still don’t fully understand what went wrong.

spiced apple cider bundt cake with buttered bourbon glaze | Brooklyn Homemaker

Not being one to accept failure, especially in the face of a #bundtbakers deadline, I asked Russell to run to the store for me while I washed the pan and took out more butter to soften.

The second time around I decreased the amount of liquid and apple and increased the amount of flour. Before the batter even went into the pan I knew things were going to be okay.

spiced apple cider bundt cake with buttered bourbon glaze | Brooklyn Homemaker

Aaaand then I went to make the glaze.

I thought a brown sugar bourbon glaze would compliment the flavors in the cake really nicely, but when I tried creaming the brown sugar with butter it refused to dissolve and the resulting glaze had a terrible gritty texture. Ugh. Seriously?

So, that batch went in the garbage along with my first cake. Next I tried melting the butter and brown sugar together in a saucepan to get rid of the grit factor, but again, disaster. I don’t know if my brown sugar was old or something, or if I was just having an off day. Either way, two cakes had been baked and I was about to make a third glaze.

Thankfully the third time really was a charm, and the glaze was perfect both in texture and flavor. Phew!

spiced apple cider bundt cake with buttered bourbon glaze | Brooklyn Homemaker

In the end, this cake was worth all the effort and frustration.

It’s unbelievably moist and wonderfully tender with loads of fresh apple flavor and plenty of spice. Like apple pie in cake form, with a hint of sweet bourbon to round everything out. It doesn’t get much better than that, especially this time of year. Bourbon has such a rich caramel-y flavor that the buttered bourbon glaze perfectly compliments all that apple and cider and spice. The glaze does have a kick to it, but you get such a small amount in every bite of cake that it feels really well balanced. None of the alcohol gets cooked out of the glaze though, so this cake is strictly for adults. Sorry kiddos!

spiced apple cider bundt cake with buttered bourbon glaze | Brooklyn Homemaker

Spiced Apple Cider Bundt Cake with Buttered Bourbon Glaze

adapted from Serious Eats

1 stick unsalted butter, softened (plus more for pan)
1 medium firm apple (I used Braeburn), peeled and grated (about 3/4 cup grated apple)
1 cup apple cider
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons (1 oz) bourbon whiskey
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
3 large eggs
1/4 cup canola oil
3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Generously butter and flour a non-stick 10 cup bundt pan and refrigerate until ready for use.
In a medium bowl, mix together the grated apples, apple cider, buttermilk, bourbon, and vanilla. Set aside.
In a large bowl or stand mixer, cream together the butter and white and brown sugars until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, incorporating fully between each addition.  Mix in canola oil until combined.
In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon.
Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, mixing just until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl before adding 1/2 of the liquid mixture. Mix to combine and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Repeat with the remaining flour and liquid, ending with flour.
Pour batter into the prepared bundt pan and smooth out the top. Bake for 50-55 minutes, or just until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Let cool for 20 minutes in the pan before inverting onto a cooling rack to remove from the pan. Cool completely before drizzling with glaze.

Buttered Bourbon Glaze:
4 tablespoons melted butter
3 tablespoon bourbon
1 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted

To make the glaze, melt and slightly cool the butter. Whisk in the confectioner’s sugar and bourbon until smooth and free of lumps. If too thick, you can add a few more drops of bourbon until it reaches the desired consistency. Drizzle or pour over the top of the completely cooled cake and allow the glaze to dry before serving.

spiced apple cider bundt cake with buttered bourbon glaze | Brooklyn Homemaker

Check out this bounty of boozey bundts! They all sound amazing, and I can’t believe how much our group is growing!

Grandma Rindfleisch’s Apfelkuchen (sort of)

Apfelkuchen (or apple kuchen) is a german apple cake.

grandma Rindfleisch's apfelkuchen | german apple cake | Brooklyn Homemaker

Apfelkuchen translates simply to apple cake, but this is not just any old apple cake. This quintessentially German recipe consists of a single layer of buttery cake topped with neat and orderly rows of sliced baking apples. Most recipes today are made in a square or rectangular shaped pan and cut into bars, but I have seen some older European recipes that produce a thicker round cake. Most recipes are finished with a crumble or streusel topping, but some are simply sprinkled with confectioners sugar.

Fruit kuchens have been around for centuries, and many traditional recipes used to be leavened with yeast. Many cooks swapped the yeast for chemical leaveners like baking powder and soda as their popularity grew decades ago.  However they’re made, most recipes today resemble a dense fruity coffee cake.

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Growing up, my great grandmother was famous for her apple kuchen, and it came along with her to every family gathering and church function as far back as I can remember. She made it almost by instinct, measuring out all her ingredients in her hands, and since she didn’t use exact measurements she never put the recipe down on paper.  It was definitely her signature and no get-together was complete without it.

When she passed in 2003, it dawned on everyone in the family that no one had ever asked her to teach them how to make it. Suddenly she was gone, and so was her apple kuchen.

grandma Rindfleisch's apfelkuchen | german apple cake | Brooklyn Homemaker

She’ll always be Grandma Rindfleisch to me, but she was born Anna Hollatz in Germany in 1909. She emigrated in 1928 when she was engaged to be married to my great grandfather who lived here in the U.S. Before their marriage they sent love letters back and forth to each other from across the world, and my grandfather says she still had all those letters when he was growing up.

grandma Rindfleisch's apfelkuchen | german apple cake | Brooklyn Homemaker

Get a look at that dress! Va-Va-Voom! If you ever wondered how wedding dress fashions may have looked in the late 1920’s, now you have an idea.

Writing about her apple kuchen got me really curious about my great grandmother’s history, and because I’m a total nerd, I researched her Ellis Island records. She sailed on the White Star line’s S.S. Arabic, and the ships manifest was full of information I never expected to find there, including handwritten changes to the name of the person who met her when she arrived. I was even able to find a few photos of the actual ship on which she made her journey, and I’m thinking of trying to get one printed and framed.

grandma Rindfleisch's apfelkuchen | german apple cake | Brooklyn Homemaker

After they were married, she and my great grandfather moved from Connecticut to the Fingerlakes region of upstate New York, where they owned and operated a dairy farm on the shores of Cayuga Lake. My mom has tons of stories of what life was like on the farm when she was growing up, and even keeps some of the dairy’s original glass milk bottles on a shelf in her kitchen. One of her fondest memories is of watching Grandma Rindfleisch churn her own butter in the well worn wooden churn she kept on her countertop. I best remember her thick German accent and the way she used to tightly wrap her white braids on the sides of her head like Princess Leia.

grandma Rindfleisch's apfelkuchen | german apple cake | Brooklyn Homemaker

When I started asking around about trying to recreate her recipe, my mom and all her cousins had loads of ideas and advice. “The cousins” (as mom calls them) had some ideas on what recipes would come closest, what ingredients should go in, and in what order. My uncle has a recipe that was supposed to come close, but a few of the cousins said it wasn’t right for a few reasons. First, and most importantly, the almond flavor should be present only in the crunchy streusel topping on the cake, but in his recipe the almond extract is added to the cake instead. There was also quite an uproar over the fact that his recipe called for (gasp) cooking oil spray!

grandma Rindfleisch's apfelkuchen | german apple cake | Brooklyn Homemaker

The one thing everyone could agree on was that nothing would ever come close to the flavor of her home-churned butter, and therefore no one will ever be able to make her kuchen exactly the way she did.

My advice is to use the best quality unsalted butter you can find. If you have the means to churn your own, knock yourself out. If not, don’t sweat it. I was lucky enough to find some imported German cultured butter made with cream from grass fed cattle when I was butter hunting. The flavor was amazing and I think it really did make such a difference in my kuchen.

grandma Rindfleisch's apfelkuchen | german apple cake | Brooklyn Homemaker

The recipe I ended up settling on, given to me by one of the cousins, comes really damned close to the real thing. It’s been over a decade since I tasted grandma’s kuchen, but if memory serves I think this is almost perfect. The only significant difference is that she would bake hers on a sheet pan or jelly roll, producing a thinner cake with a much higher apple to cake ratio. I didn’t go that route because it would make way more cake than I could handle, but if you’re looking to feed a crowd that’s the way to do it.

Either way, this cake is phenomenal. It’s simple, homey and unfussy but totally satisfying. It also happens to be really easy to make. The cake itself has an incredible rich buttery flavor that’s perfectly complimented by the sweet and tender apples. The topping combines even more butter with almond extract and cinnamon to finish the cake with just enough sweet crunch to tie everything together.

grandma Rindfleisch's apfelkuchen | german apple cake | Brooklyn Homemaker

Grandma Rindfleisch's Apfelkuchen

Cake:
1/2 cup (1 stick) highest quality unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
2 cups flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
3 or 4 firm baking apples (I used braeburns)

Topping:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) highest quality unsalted butter
1 teaspoon almond extract

Preheat your oven to 350. Butter and flour a 9×13 baking dish (or an 18×13 jelly roll pan or half sheet pan). Cream butter and 3/4 cup sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the egg & beat until well incorporated. Whisk together the 2 cups of flour, baking powder, and salt. Add flour to butter mixture in three additions, alternating with milk. Beat just until incorporated, scraping the sides of the bowl after each addition.

Spread the batter in the bottom of the buttered pan. Peel, core, & slice the apples. Arrange the slices in three four or neat rows lengthwise, depending on the size of the apples. Whisk together the remaining sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Mash the butter into the topping with a fork, or with your fingers. Mix in almond extract, break the topping up so it’s nice and crumbly, and sprinkle it evenly over the apples. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake (avoid apple slices) comes out clean. If you’re baking on a jelly roll the cake may cook faster, start checking after 30 minutes.

Cool for at least 30 minutes before dividing into three rows of slices.

classic apple pie

A few times now, I’ve mentioned my good friends who have been planning their wedding.

classic apple pie & a rustic fall wedding | Brooklyn Homemaker

Well folks, they finally went and done got hitched.

Mazel Tovs all around!

classic apple pie | Brooklyn Homemaker

Back when Russell and I were married in June of 2013, our caterer’s mother baked us some pies for the dessert table at our wedding. Not only did having a variety of pies and treats alongside our cake look really festive and beautiful, but it felt like a really personal way to offer something extra for the sweets lovers at our reception.
I’ve also heard that there are some people in the world who don’t like cake, and as hard as I find that fact to believe, we thought this might be a nice way to make sure those people felt included. I mean, I don’t know why anyone who doesn’t like cake would have been at our wedding, but just in case we had pies and cookies for them to choose from too.

classic apple pie | Brooklyn Homemaker

That aspect of our wedding ended up being something that our friends really really enjoyed, so when it came to planning their own wedding, they were inspired to do the same and enlisted me to help them with it. In last month’s #bundtbakers post I mentioned that I’d be baking a few things for their big day, and that my apple-pear-carrot-parsnip-packed spiced harvest bundt cake won out in little a pre-wedding cake tasting. I also said that in addition to the bundts, I’d be baking a couple pies too.

classic apple pie | Brooklyn Homemaker

As you’ve probably guessed by now (the title of this post may have been a clue), the bride and groom-to-be decided on classic apple pies.  Their wedding was in the Catskill mountains on October 12th, so apple pies really could not have been more appropriate for the occasion. The fall has always been my favorite time of year, as much for the weather and scenery as for the food and sweets so, truth be told, I was thrilled to have an excuse to bake so many fall desserts in one fell swoop!

classic apple pie | Brooklyn Homemaker

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t know my way around an apple pie. Growing up, my grandfather had a dozen or so apple trees on his property and this time of year there were always plenty of fresh apple pies coming from grandma’s oven. As soon as I learned to make pie crust from scratch I set to mastering apple pie for myself.

classic apple pie | Brooklyn Homemaker

Over the years, I’ve baked approximately 42.6 million apples pies, so at this point I think I have my technique pretty well figured out.

I mean, I actually think that apple pie is kind of a personal thing, and different people like theirs made different ways. Myself, I tend to like a pie with a healthy amount of spice and a nice lemony boost. A lot of recipes recommend a bit of lemon juice, but I usually use a bit more and add the zest too because I think it adds a really interesting floral quality that I love. I also tend to use sweet soft apples that benefit from the extra bit of acidity.

classic apple pie | Brooklyn Homemaker

When it comes to the apples, there are a lot of options out there. A lot of people like to use Granny Smiths because of their balanced acidity and subtle sweetness, but personally I think their flavor is a bit flat, and their flesh a bit too firm for my liking. When I first started experimenting with different types of apples for pie, a few varieties quickly moved to the top of my list. If you like a firmer apple, Braeburns have a great flavor for pie. If you want an apple that softens a bit but still retains a good bite when baked, I think Golden Delicious are ideal. If you like something a bit softer when baked, McIntosh and Cortlands are some of my favorites, but they produce a bit more water so a bit more flour may be needed to keep the pie from getting soggy.

If you want to get really next level and pack your pie with as much complex apple-y flavor as possible, I recommend that you mix a few varieties together. For these pies I used a half and half mix of McIntosh and Golden Delicious, but you can play around and decide what you like best yourself.

classic apple pie & a rustic fall wedding | Brooklyn Homemaker

With the pies and bundts baked and ready to go, Russell and I piled into a car and made the short trip up to the Catskills for the wedding. The scenery was almost as stunning as the wedding itself. Our friends though, would not be outshone.

It was such an absolutely beautiful day. Every aspect of their wedding was perfect. Their vows were some of the most meaningful beautiful words I’ve ever heard, and there were gorgeous personal touches at every turn. I only wish I could have gotten more photos. Alas, I was too busy enjoying myself. Sorry guys!

I was able to sneak a few shots in though, and I’ve shared a few of my favorites below.

classic apple pie & a rustic fall wedding | Brooklyn Homemaker classic apple pie & a rustic fall wedding | Brooklyn Homemaker

Check out the insanely beautiful centerpieces at the reception. I can’t even.

classic apple pie & a rustic fall wedding | Brooklyn Homemaker

In the name of blogging, I made damn certain to get in a few shots of their dessert table so you could see it in all it’s glory. Just like the rest of their wedding, every detail was too adorable and perfect for words.

classic apple pie & a rustic fall wedding | Brooklyn Homemakerclassic apple pie & a rustic fall wedding | Brooklyn Homemaker

The bundts and pies were a huge hit. Having these homemade treats alongside their wedding cake was such an inspired way to make their dessert table feel more personal and thoughtful. Being surrounded by the stunning fall foliage of the Catskills, these desserts also brought that fall feeling into their reception in a really special way.

This apple pie is packed with sweet soft tender apples, a really healthy amount of spice, and a great citrusy floral twist from the lemon zest and juice. The all butter crust is the perfect compliment to the flavor of the baked apples; tender, crisp, flaky, and oh-so-buttery. To give the pie a bit of shine, an egg wash is brushed on before baking, and some coarse sugar sprinkled over the top adds a beautiful sparkle.

I’m going to go ahead and say that this is the perfect fall dessert. As well as being an incredible compliment to a wedding dessert table, this recipe would be an ideal addition your Thanksgiving spread. Just sayin’.

classic apple pie & a rustic fall wedding | Brooklyn Homemaker

Classic Apple Pie

All-butter pie crust

makes enough for 1 double-crust or 2 single-crust pies

3 cups all purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold
(up to) 1 cup ice cold water

Stir or whisk together flour, sugar, & salt in a medium bowl. If you have time, toss the bowl in the freezer for a 15 or 20 minutes. Cube the butter, add it to the chilled flour, and cut it in with a pastry blender, until it looks like coarse pea sized chunks. You can also do this by pulsing in a food processor. If you took very long to cut the butter in, you can toss the bowl back in the freezer for another 15 minutes, but if the butter is still firm and cold, don’t bother.

Start mixing in the water and stirring and tossing with a fork to distribute and combine. Try starting with about 1/2 cup, mix together, and add about a tablespoon or two at a time, until it starts to come together. The less water you use the better and flakier the crust will be, but you don’t want to use so little that it won’t hold together. If you can press it together with your hands and it mostly stays in a ball, with a few little bits crumbling out, you’re good to go.

Divide the dough into to balls, and wrap each tightly in plastic wrap. Try to handle it as little as possible so as not to warm or melt the butter. Press or pat the covered balls of dough into thick disks and refrigerate for at least an hour or two (or up to a few days)

Classic apple pie

3 1/2 to 4 lbs apples (I used about 1/2 golden delicious and 1/2 macintosh, but cortlands & braeburns are great too)
zest and juice of half a lemon
1 cup of sugar
3 to 4 tablespoons flour (4 for juicy soft apples like mcintosh or cortland, 3 for other varieties)
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves (optional)
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom (optional)
2 tablespoons butter, cut into several pieces
1 egg, beaten
2 to 3 tablespoons coarse sugar

Preheat your oven to 375.

On a well floured surface, roll out the first disk crust and line a 9.5 or 10 inch pie dish. Place the dish in the refrigerator while you prepare your apples.

Peel, core, and thinly slice your apples and place in a large bowl with lemon juice and zest, sugar, flour, and spices. Gently toss to combine. Transfer the apples into the pastry lined pie dish, and dot the apples with the butter. Roll out the other disk of crust and either top the filled pie with it and cut slits to vent the pie, or cut the crust into strips to make a lattice crust. If you’re interested, follow this link for a lattice crust tutorial. Either way, once the pie is topped, trim the edges to about 1/2 inch overhang, roll it under itself, and crimp the edges to seal the top and bottom crusts together.

Brush the top crust with the beaten egg, and sprinkle with the coarse sugar. You’ll want to arrange the oven racks so one is in the middle, and one is just beneath it. Put a foil lined tray on the lower rack to catch any potential drips and spills. It will likely boil over a little. Place the pie on the middle rack and bake for 60 to 65 minutes, or until well browned and nice and bubbly and smelling like heaven.

I’d recommend, especially with McIntosh or Cortland apples, that you let the pie rest for at least a few hours before slicing or it may be watery. I usually make mine a day ahead and reheat them just slightly in the oven if I want to serve them warm.

cherry, almond, & dark chocolate shortbread cookies

Well. It’s official. Summer is over, and with it, so is cherry season.

cherry, almond, & dark chocolate shortbread cookies | Brooklyn Homemaker

I know cherry season has actually been over for some time, but all the other fruit coming through my kitchen this summer has kept me sufficiently distracted. This week though I suddenly realized that it was fall and my beloved cherries were long gone. Apples and pears are still around, so don’t worry, I’ll survive, but it’s still a real bummer.

cherry, almond, & dark chocolate shortbread cookies | Brooklyn Homemaker

Fortunately, cooler weather brings with it the season of warm ovens, and one of the best things to do with a warm oven is bake cookies!  I swear the oven just happened to be on because of the weather, so I was forced to oblige and bake some cookies.

cherry, almond, & dark chocolate shortbread cookies | Brooklyn Homemaker

Lucky for me, the beginning of fall also means the beginning of dried fruit season. I must admit that I’m not actually a big fan of raisins, but that doesn’t stop me from adding plenty of dried fruit to my baking. I use dried cherries or dried cranberries in place of raisins in almost all baking recipes, especially cookies. What better way to mourn the end of summer and cherry season than to make cookies with some tart chewy dried cherries?

cherry, almond, & dark chocolate shortbread cookies | Brooklyn Homemaker

My boss knows my fondness for dried fruit, so when she went on a business trip to Japan recently she returned with bags full of dried figs and cherries for me. Let me tell you, those cherries were some of the best i’ve ever had. Most dried cherries you buy in the store are sweetened to taste like candy, but these cherries were just dried in their natural state and had the most amazing bright tart and just-sweet-enough flavor. I knew I would have to find a special way to put them to good use, and I couldn’t think of any better way than to chop them up with dark chocolate and almonds in a crisp buttery shortbread cookie.

cherry, almond, & dark chocolate shortbread cookies | Brooklyn Homemaker

To make sure these ingredients were well distributed throughout the cookie I pulsed everything in the food processor while combining the sugar and butter. I think that it would have been better texturally if I’d waited to add theses “extras” until I added the flour. The flavor is absolutely amazing; the chocolate, cherries, and almonds marry perfectly together; but I think I would have preferred juuust slightly larger pieces of everything to be able to taste each ingredient individually as well as all together. In the recipe below I made this small change and noted that these ingredients should be pulsed with the flour, not earlier. Either way though, these cookies are crisp and buttery and ever so slightly salty, with a perfect combination of bitter dark chocolate, chewy tart cherries, and crunchy nutty almonds.

If you cant find unsweetened dried cherries, sweetened will work just as well. These cookies are perfect for fall but the flavors will translate well any time of year. I even think that these could make an excellent (and beautiful) addition to your holiday cookie tray.

cherry, almond, & dark chocolate shortbread cookies | Brooklyn Homemaker

Dark Chocolate, Cherry, & Almond Shortbread Cookies

  • Servings: 24 to 36 -ish
  • Print
adapted from Martha Stewart

3/4 cups sliced almonds
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoons coarse salt
3/4 cups dried cherries (unsweetened if available)
3/4 cups good dark chocolate, coarsely chopped (or dark chocolate chips)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup coarse raw sugar (optional)

Preheat oven to 375. Spread almonds in an even layer on a baking sheet, and toast almonds for 5 to 10 minutes, checking frequently that they don’t burn. They should smell super nutty and be just barely beginning to brown. Remove from oven and cool completely.

In a food processor, combine butter, confectioners’ sugar, and salt; process until smooth and well blended. Add flour, chocolate, cherries, and almonds, and pulse until just combined and beginning to hold together. If you don’t have a food processor you could do this with a pastry blender, or even an electric mixer, but you’ll need to chop the cherry, chocolate, and almonds ahead.

Place the dough in the center of a 16 inch long sheet parchment paper. Plastic wrap would work too. Form dough into an 12-inch-long round log; and roll parchment up around it tightly to help get it smooth and perfectly round. There should be roughly 2 inches of extra parchment on either end; twist the ends up until tight and fold them over. Freeze the log until firm, at least 30 minutes (or up to 1 month).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. If desired, let the dough soften for about 15 minutes and roll entire log in coarse sugar to coat. Cut dough into 1/4-inch-thick slices and transfer to two parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake until cookies are golden brown around edges, 15 to 18 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Let cookies cool 5 minutes on sheets. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely.