Name: Mary's Bell Cookies
Cook time: 1 1/2 hr
Total time: 1 3/4 hr
Yield: Makes about 5 dozen cookies
Ingredients: 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar; 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened; 15 to 18 maraschino cherries (from a 10-oz jar), including 3 tablespoons juice; 1 1/2 cups finely chopped pecans (5 oz); 3 cups all-purpose flour; 1 teaspoon ground ginger; 1/2 teaspoon baking soda; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1/2 teaspoon instant-coffee granules or instant-espresso powder; 1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar; 1 cup vegetable shortening (preferably trans-fat free), at room temperature; 1/4 cup dark corn syrup; 1 large egg; 1 tablespoon heavy cream; a 2 1/2-inch round cookie cutter; a small offset spatula

Food Editor: Ian Knauer
Father: Robert M. Knauer, Allentown, PA
As a mother of seven, my grandmother was always in the kitchen and often made these bell-shaped cookies. Now, when I make them for my father from her handwritten recipe, he says the taste takes him back to his childhood.

Cooks' note:

Cookies keep in an airtight container at room temperature 3 days.

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