SEPARATE eggs. Beat eggs whites lightly. Chill. Beat shortening and powdered sugar in large bowl on medium speed with electric mixer until well blended. Beat in hard-boiled egg yolks, uncooked egg yolks, vanilla, almond extract and water. Beat in flour, 1/4 C. at a time, until well blended. Cover and refrigerate 3 hours.
HEAT oven to 350ºF. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper. Allow dough to stand at room temperature until it becomes easy to handle.
DIVIDE dough into 2 equal portions. Cut each portion into 24 equal pieces. Roll each piece of dough into a 5-inch long rope. Form each rope into wreath or loop 1 1/2 inches apart on prepared cookie sheet, overlapping both ends. Brush each wreath with reserved egg white. Sprinkle with colored sugar crystals. Lightly press cherry piece into top of each wreath.
BAKE 12 to 15 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on cookie sheets 2 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
Nutrition
Serving size
(1 cookie)
Calories 80
Calories from Fat40g
Total Fat 4g
Saturated Fat 1g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0g
Monounsaturated Fat 0g
Cholesterol 20mg
Sodium 0mg
Potassium 0mg
Total Carbohydrates 9g
Dietary Fiber 0g
Sugars 4g
Protein 1g
Vitamin A 0%
Vitamin C 0%
Vitamin D 0%
Calcium 0%
Thiamin 0%
Niacin 0%
Zinc 0%
Riboflavin 0%
Iron 0%
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet