The first time I ever watched the well-known British science-fiction television show Doctor Who was somewhere around 1986, and it certainly wasn’t a show that instantly captured my heart by any means. In fact, I think I spent a few hours pondering over exactly who in the world could possibly find such a show entertaining. Mind you, I was thinking this whilst playing Dungeons & Dragons with my older brother, so my opinion on the subject probably doesn’t account for a whole lot. Forward many years later, when I once again came into contact with the show while vacationing with several high school friends. There was a marathon of the same television show running, only this time the episodes were way more current and featured the creatures known as Weeping Angels. I was instantly hooked, while simultaneously being scared to death of course.
Weeping Angels are by far the creepiest and most devilish invention created to basically scare the living crap out of a person. These creatures that resemble innocent stone statues wait for you to turn away or close your eyes to viciously attack. In the blink of an eye they will be on you, and you, in turn, will become one of them. So what you say? Well imagine you are taking a delightful stroll around your neighborhood, and every fifth yard you pass has an angel statue in it. As you walk past, keeping the angel within your sight at all times you are completely fine, but at some point, you need to keep walking and your eye contact will be broken. It’s quite possible that the cherubic piece of stone statuary that one of your clearly delusional neighbors seems to find so appealing will most likely choose that exact moment to attack you with its vampire teeth and ferocious clawing nails.
My unlikely, yet utterly delicious solution to the problem are these Weeping Angel Cherry Don’t Blinks. They’ll help to remind you that an angel statue is never just an angel statue and that somewhere beneath that stone or resin facade, there is always the possibility of something evil that is just waiting to come out at any moment. Whatever you do “Don’t blink, blink and you’re dead. They are fast, faster than you can believe. Don’t turn your back, don’t look away, and don’t blink.” Try throwing the angels a few bourbon-infused Weeping Angel Cherry Don’t Blinks and maybe you’ll gain a few more seconds to make your escape, or instead just scarf them all down by yourself and avoid any neighborhood where an angel statue resides. Chances are those neighborhoods are home to a bunch of sadistic, creepy, and deranged individuals anyway, who clearly have no idea what a Weeping Angel is, and will one day find themselves in the clutches of one due to their own ignorance.
Ingredients:
- 1 (10-oz.) Jar Maraschino Cherries
- Bourbon
- ¾ Cup Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature
- 1 Cup Granulated Sugar
- 2 Eggs
- 1 Tablespoon Cherry Liquid
- 1 Tablespoon Heavy Whipping Cream
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 2 ¼ Cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
- ½ Teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ Teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1 Cup Sliced Almonds
- 1 Cup Finely Chopped Dates
- 2 ¼ Cups Special K Cereal
Directions:
- In a strainer, drain the juice off of the Maraschino cherries and discard. Place the cherries back into the jar, and then cover with bourbon by ½-inch. Refrigerate for at least 1 week.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Drain the cherries, making sure to reserve the bourbon juice.
- On medium speed, cream the butter and sugar for 3 minutes.
- Add each egg one at a time, mixing until well combined on medium speed.
- Add the 1-tablespoon cherry liquid, whipping cream, and extract; mix for 2 minutes on medium speed.
- In a medium bowl, sift or whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- On low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the wet mixture, and mix until just combined.
- Cut 15 of the cherries in half; set aside.
- Roughly chop the remaining cherries and then add them to the cookie dough along with the sliced almonds and chopped dates. Fold everything together until well combined with a silicone spatula.
- Crush the cereal lightly in a large plastic baggie with a rolling pin, and then pour the crushed cereal into a bowl.
- Use a small cookie scoop or tablespoon to measure out equal amounts of dough. Roll each scoop of dough between your hands to form a ball, and then toss to coat in the crushed cereal.
- Place each dough ball onto a Silpat or parchment paper lined baking sheet and then press half of a cherry into each one. Do not place more than 12 balls of dough onto the baking sheet at a time.
- Bake for 12 minutes, or until golden brown.
- Allow to rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a baking rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough.
- Store in an airtight container.
Suggestions:
- The longer you soak the cherries, the more bourbon they will absorb. If you are making this recipe for children you can skip the bourbon, or just not top each cookie with a bourbon soaked cherry. They will certainly not notice the taste of bourbon in the cookie, but they will, however, taste it in the cherry garnish.
- You will have leftover bourbon infused cherry juice. You can either drink this liquid straight up or serve it with ice and cola.
- This recipe will yield approximately 30 cookies.
- Check out the video below to learn more about Weeping Angels.
Improvements:
- Replace half of the dates with chopped chocolate.
- Use your favorite cereal in place of the Special K.
- Bake a batch of these Cherry Don’t Blinks, order a pizza or two, and host a Doctor Who: Weeping Angels marathon.
- These OXO Good Grips Cookie Scoops
come in pretty gosh darn handy in the kitchen. I like to have a variety of sizes on hand.
Ingredients:
- 1 (10-oz.) Jar Maraschino Cherries
- Bourbon
- ¾ Cup Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature
- 1 Cup Granulated Sugar
- 2 Eggs
- 1 Tablespoon Cherry Liquid
- 1 Tablespoon Heavy Whipping Cream
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 2 ¼ Cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
- ½ Teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ Teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1 Cup Sliced Almonds
- 1 Cup Finely Chopped Dates
- 2 ¼ Cups Special K Cereal
Directions:
- In a strainer, drain the juice off of the Maraschino cherries and discard. Place the cherries back into the jar, and then cover with bourbon by ½-inch. Refrigerate for at least 1 week.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Drain the cherries, making sure to reserve the bourbon juice.
- On medium speed, cream the butter and sugar for 3 minutes.
- Add each egg one at a time, mixing until well combined on medium speed.
- Add the 1-tablespoon cherry liquid, whipping cream, and extract; mix for 2 minutes on medium speed.
- In a medium bowl, sift or whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- On low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the wet mixture, and mix until just combined.
- Cut 15 of the cherries in half; set aside.
- Roughly chop the remaining cherries and then add them to the cookie dough along with the sliced almonds and chopped dates. Fold everything together until well combined with a silicone spatula.
- Crush the cereal lightly in a large plastic baggie with a rolling pin, and then pour the crushed cereal into a bowl.
- Use a small cookie scoop or tablespoon to measure out equal amounts of dough. Roll each scoop of dough between your hands to form a ball, and then toss to coat in the crushed cereal.
- Place each dough ball onto a Silpat or parchment paper lined baking sheet and then press half of a cherry into each one. Do not place more than 12 balls of dough onto the baking sheet at a time.
- Bake for 12 minutes, or until golden brown.
- Allow to rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a baking rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough.
- Store in an airtight container.
*Some affiliate links can be found in this post.
**This post first appeared as a guest post on Tragic Wardrobe on 04/27/2016. At this time, this website is no longer active.
Don’t let this recipe slip away. How often do you find a recipe intriguing, yet forget where to find it when you finally get the hankering to make it? Instead of digging through old posts or wandering aimlessly around on the internet, why not Pin this recipe to Pinterest where you can find it when you eventually need it? Simply Pin the image above and you’ll have it when that time comes.
I’ll be joining the Fiesta Friday Link Party and the Weekend Potluck today. Head on over to see what everyone else is bringing to the celebration.
