Begin by whipping the salted butter by using a stand mixer or with a hand mixer in a medium bowl.

Whip for 3-4 minutes at a medium-high level until the butter has turned a pale yellow and is slightly fluffier.

Add in the powdered sugar and beat for another 2-3 minutes.

Slowly add in the flour and pudding mix, stirring slowly.

Add in the almond extract and food coloring.

Mix until the food coloring has spread throughout the dough to create a solid color with no streaks.

Drain and chop the cherries.

Fold the cherries into a double layer of paper towels, pressing down to get any extra juices out. If needed, move to another pair of paper towels if the first becomes too saturated in the cherry juice.

Fold the chopped and dried cherries into the dough. Be careful to not overmix as the color from the cherries can still spread.

Wrap the dough in saran wrap for half an hour and refrigerate.

After the dough has refrigerated, roll 1-2 tablespoons of dough into a ball per cookie until you fill a cookie sheet. Separate slightly.

Bake at 350 degrees fahrenheit for 10-12 minutes.

Allow the cookies to cool completely before tossing in the other cup of powdered sugar to coat each cookie.