Cherry-Orange Sugar  Cookies

These were a big hit at the Cookie Club party.  My  son wasn't too wild about them, but the ladies definitely wanted the recipe.

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
3 T. orange juice
Zest of 1 large orange, grated
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup minced, dried cherries (food processor works great if you freeze them first)

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt.  Stir to blend.
In a mixing bowl beat the butter and sugar until creamy. 
Mix in the egg, orange juice, zest, and vanilla extract.  Mix thoroughly.
Stir in the flour mixture and minced cherries.  Stir until all ingredients are mixed.
Refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight. (You can freeze the dough for up to 2 weeks)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Roll dough and cut into desired shapes (Kitchen Collectables' carrot or pumpkin 
cookie cutters are fun ones for this recipe)

Orange flavored royal icing  is great on these cookies, but a vanilla buttercream or cream 
cheese frosting would be nice too.

Hint:  Rather than wait for your cookie dough to chill, take the freshly made dough and place a glob between two sheets of parchment paper.  Roll it out to the desired thickness then place the dough and paper on a cookie sheet and pop it into the refrigerator.  Continue rolling out your dough between sheets of paper until you have used it all.  By the time you are finished, the first batch will be completely chilled and ready to cut.  Reroll leftover dough and repeat the process!  An added bonus is that you are not adding any additional flour to your cookies.