Chocolate-Covered Cherry Diamonds

Ingredients

• 6 oz maraschino cherries 
• 1 cup powdered sugar 
• 1 cup butter softened
• 0.5 teaspoon almond extract 
• 2.5 cups flour all-purpose
• 0.5 teaspoon salt 
• 11.5 oz milk chocolate chips (2 cups)
• 12  candied cherries red cut into fourths, if desired

Equipment

• bowl
• frying pan
• oven
• wire rack
• hand mixer
• spatula

Directions

1. Heat oven to 325°F (if using dark or nonstick pan, heat oven to 300°F).
2. Drain maraschino cherries, reserving liquid. Finely chop maraschino cherries.
3. In large bowl, beat powdered sugar, butter, cherry liquid and almond extract with electric mixer on low speed until well mixed. Beat in flour and salt until well mixed. Stir in maraschino cherries. On bottom of ungreased 15x10x1-inch pan, spread dough.
4. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until edges are light golden brown.
5. Immediately sprinkle with chocolate chips.
6. Let stand about 5 minutes or until chocolate is softened; spread chocolate evenly over bars with spatula. Cool in pan on wire rack 30 minutes. For diamond shapes, cut bars diagonally into 8 rows by 6 rows.
7. Garnish with candied cherries.