1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Pat cherries dry with paper towels. Finely chop cherries. Spread chopped cherries on paper towels and pat dry; set aside.
2. In a large bowl stir together flour and the 1/2 C sugar. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles fine crumbs and starts to cling. Stir in chopped cherries, 2/3 C of the white chocolate, and the almond extract.
3. Shape dough into 3/4-inch balls. Place balls 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet; using bottom of a glass dipped in additional sugar, flatten to 1-1/2- inch rounds.
4. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until centers are set. Cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute. Transfer cookies to a wire rack; cool.
5. In a small saucepan cook and stir the remaining white chocolate and the shortening over low heat until melted. Dip half of each cookie into melted white chocolate, letting excess chocolate drip back into saucepan. Let stand until white chocolate is set.