Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper to ensure your cookies come off easily after baking.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the cold butter pieces and the granulated white sugar. Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat them together until the mixture is light and fluffy. This should take about 2-3 minutes.
Once the butter and sugar are well combined, add in the almond extract. Stir until incorporated. Next, fold in the finely chopped maraschino cherries and the finely chopped white chocolate, ensuring an even distribution throughout the dough.
Gradually add the all-purpose flour to the mixture, mixing on low speed to prevent flour from flying everywhere. Mix until just combined, being careful not to overmix. The dough should come together nicely.
Once the dough is ready, you can either roll it out to about 1/4 inch thickness and cut it into your desired shapes or simply scoop tablespoon-sized portions onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart.
Bake in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes or until the edges are lightly golden. Keep an eye on them, as baking times may vary.
Once baked, remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
While the cookies cool, melt the remaining 8 ounces of white chocolate (or vanilla candy disks) with 2 teaspoons of shortening in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat in 30-second intervals, stirring in between until smooth.
Once the cookies are completely cooled, dip half of each cookie into the melted white chocolate. If you want to add a pop of color, add a few drops of red food coloring to the melted chocolate and mix to create a marbled effect. Allow the excess chocolate to drip off before placing them back on the parchment paper.
Place the decorated cookies in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes or until the chocolate has fully set.
