These are excellent and quite pretty on a plate. Alexa *********************************************************** Holly Berry Cookies Servings: 12 Ingredients: 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 cup white sugar 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 3/4 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup butter, chilled 1 egg 1/4 cup milk 2/3 cup seedless raspberry jam 2 cups confectioners' sugar 2 tablespoons milk 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/4 cup cinnamon red hot candies 4 drops green food coloring Directions: 1. In a large bowl combine the flour, white sugar, ground cinnamon, baking powder and salt. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In a small bowl beat the egg and 1/4 cup of milk. Add this to the crumb mixture until the dough is moistened. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. 2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). 3. On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough to 1/8 inch thick. Cut with a 2 inch round cookie cutter. Place on ungreased baking sheets. 4. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on wire racks. Once cool spread jam on half of the cookies then top each with another cookie. 5. To Make Glaze: Combine the confectioners' sugar, 2 tablespoons milk and vanilla until smooth. Spread glaze over the cookie and decorate with red cinnamon candy before the glaze is set. Let dry. Using a small new paintbrush and green food coloring, paint holly leaves on cookies.

I usually start making cookie dough now and then freeze it until a few days before I bake when I remove it from the freezer and place it in the fridge to thaw. I wrap each dough in wax paper, then place it in a zip lock freezer bag. You can place more than one in a bag and label each dough. I've kept them frozen for several months before baking them and they turned out fine. I don't recommend that for special occasions, but for your own use they should be fine. I included a note in the recipe that I don't put in the freezer; they might be OK, we just haven't tried it with that particular cookie. Basically, butter-based cookie recipes do well in the freezer. Cranberry Lemon Cookies A wonderful cookie I discovered at Gail's Recipe Swap. It is now one of the "must have" cookies in our family at Christmas time. They freeze well, but you should thaw them before you frost them. * 1/2 C butter * 1/2 C sugar * 1/3 C brown sugar * 1/2 tsp. lemon zest * 1 egg * 2 tsp. vanilla * 1 C flour * 1 tsp. baking powder * 1/2 tsp. cinnamon * 1-1/2 C chopped pecans (I use walnuts) * 1-1/2 C chopped fresh cranberries Cream butter, sugars, and lemon zest. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine flour, baking powder and cinnamon. Gradually beat into butter mixture. Stir in nuts and cranberries. Drop by teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart on greased baking sheets. Bake at 350F for 10 to 12 minutes, or until golden. Let cool slightly before removing to cooling racks. Frost when cool. ICING: Whisk together 1 C confectioner's sugar, 2 Tbsp milk, and 1/4 tsp. lemon zest. *********************************************** Walnut Acorn Cookies Hubby remembers his mom making these cookies when he was a kid in Ohio, and it remains as one of the "must have" Christmas cookies in his family. * 1 C melted butter * 3/4 C brown sugar, firmly packed * 1 C finely chopped walnuts (chop first, then measure 1 cup) * 1 tsp. vanilla * 2-3/4 C sifted all-purpose flour * 1/2 tsp. baking powder * 1 C (6 oz.) semi-sweet chocolate chips Stir together melted butter, brown sugar, 3/4 C walnuts and vanilla. Sift flour with baking powder and stir into butter mixture; blend well. [At this point, I let it cool then wrap it in waxed paper and then a freezer bag and keep in the fridge until ready to bake. Let come to room temperature before forming into cookies.] Shape cookies by pressing dough firmly into a teaspoon (not a measuring spoon), slightly mounding the dough to form the shape of an acorn. Be sure the dough is firmly formed on the spoon. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet in 375F oven about 13 minutes, until light golden brown. Cool. Meanwhile, melt chocolate over warm water in double boiler. Dip large end of cookie in melted chocolate, then in remaining walnuts. Cool on wax paper. Store in air-tight containers. Makes 4-5 dozen cookies. **************************************************** Mexican Wedding Cakes A tender, buttery cookie rolled in powdered sugar. * 1 C softened butter * 1/4 C confectioner's (powdered) sugar * 1/8 tsp. salt * 2 tsp. vanilla * 2 C sifted flour * 1 C chopped pecans or toasted almonds Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add salt, vanilla, flour and nuts; blend well. Shape into roll, 1-1/2" in diameter. Wrap in wax paper and chill. Slice in 1/4" slices and shape. Place on ungreased cookie sheet, bake in 400F oven 6-8 minutes for slices, 8-10 minutes for balls. Roll in confectioner's sugar while still warm. ************************************************* Happy baking! :-) Jen

This is a really good cookie! Lemon Pecan Stars 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter at room temp 1 cup confectioner's sugar 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans 1/2 t. salt 1 t. vanilla 4 TB finely grated lemon zest 3-4 TB granulated sugar for topping Cream butter and sugar well. Add flour, pecans, salt, vanilla, and lemon zest. Mix well. Gather into 2 balls. Wrap in waxed paper, chill 4 hours. Work with one portion at a time. Roll out dough to 1/2-inch thick; use small or medium star cutters, cut cookies. Put 1-inch apart on ungreased sheets. Sprinkle with granulated sugar. Chill sheets 45 min. Preheat oven to 325. Bake one sheet at a time for 20 minutes. Cool on a rack. Store in an airtight container until ready to serve. Makes about 66 cookies.

I made these with my Grand Daughters a few weeks a go and they were surprisingly good. Halloween Cutout Sugar Cookies Its easy to transform a basic sugar cookie dough into delightful Halloween treats. Using cutters shaped like ghosts and black cats, you can create spooky sweets that will cast a magic spell over holiday gatherings. 16 Tbs. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature 3/4 cup sugar 3 egg yolks 1 piece vanilla bean, about 2 inches long 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. salt Colored sugars and decorating pens In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, beat together the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Beat in the egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition. Cut the vanilla bean in half lengthwise and, using a small, sharp knife, scrape the seeds into the butter mixture. Mix well. In a sifter, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Sift the flour mixture directly onto the butter mixture. Reduce the speed to low and beat until well mixed. Divide the dough into 4 equal portions. Shape each portion into a ball, then flatten the balls into disks. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. (The dough can be prepared up to 3 days ahead.) Let it soften slightly at room temperature before continuing. Position a rack in the upper third of an oven and preheat to 350°F. Butter 2 large baking sheets. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out a dough disk 1/4 inch thick. Using cookie cutters, cut out desired shapes. Transfer the cutouts to the prepared baking sheets. Gather up and reroll the scraps and cut out more cookies. Repeat with the remaining dough disks. Bake until the cookies are golden on the edges, about 8 minutes. Transfer the cookies to wire racks and let cool completely. Decorate the cookies as desired with colored sugars and decorating pens. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. Makes 24 to 30 cookies, depending on cutter size. Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Kitchen Library Series, Holiday Baking, by Jeanne Thiel Kelley (Time-Life Books, 1995). ____________________________________________________________________________ Icing the Cookies Royal icing, a firm icing made with egg whites and confectioners sugar, takes food coloring well. If you're making icing in several colors, first divide the uncolored icing into small bowls. Add food coloring paste to each, a tiny bit at a time, then stir with a toothpick until the desired hue is achieved. Apply thin icings or glazes with a clean pastry brush, a little at a time. Brush the icing evenly over the cookie using light, feathery strokes. (Thick royal icing can be thinned with equal amounts of lemon juice and water until the desired consistency is reached.) Apply thick icings with a pastry bag, which works best when nearly filled with icing. Decorative tips can be used for creating patterns, piping lines or writing messages.