Ingredients

1/2 cup maraschino cherries, drained and chopped
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup of cold salted butter, cut into pieces
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
chocolate for drizzling, optional

Directions

Pat the cherries with a paper towel to help absorb the moisture. They should be fairly dry before adding them to the batter.

Set the cherries aside and preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Whisk the flour and sugar briefly to combine. Using a pastry cutter, or two forks, cut in the cold butter until it resembles coarse crumbs.

Stir in the vanilla extract and the cherries. The dough should look crumbly but not combined.

Knead that dough, with clean hands, until it forms a solid ball.

Form 1 inch balls, I suggest using a cookie scoop (affiliate) for this, and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet.

Dip the bottom of a drinking glass into sugar and gently press each cookie until it is 1/2 inch thick.

Bake for 10-12 minutes. Remove from the cookie tray immediately and place on a cooling rack.

Drizzle with melted chocolate if desired.