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 grew up making a lot of recipes from the Farm Journal Cookbook and you really can't go wrong with any of their recipes. I loved these Frosted Molasses Creams a lot as a kid - and still do. I cut and pasted the recipe, but it really is tried and true; I have a 1959 FJ cookbook that I found for $1 at an antique store once, and I was tickled, because it's exactly like the one my Mom had. The recipes all had short discriptions that are corny by today's standards. I put a link to the Taste of Home site where I found and as far as I can tell, the recipes there match up with the original cookbook's recipes. Frosted Molasses Creams Recipe By :Food Editors of Farm Journal Serving Size : 39 Preparation Time :0:00 Categories : Bar Cookies Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method -------- ------------ -------------------------------- 1/2 cup shortening 1/2 cup sugar 1 egg -- beaten 1/2 cup molasses 1/2 cup strong, hot coffee 1 1/2 cups sifted flour 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 3/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves Creamy Coffee Icing: 1/4 cup butter or margarine 2 cups confectioners sugar 2 tablespoons cold coffee Cream together shortening and sugar; blend in egg, molasses and coffee. Sift together dry ingredients; add to creamed mixture and blend well. Pour into greased and waxed-paper lined 13-in. x 9-ion. pan. Bake in moderate oven (350') 25 minutes. While warm, frost with Creamy Coffee Icing. Cool in pan on rack, then cut in 3-in. x 1-in. bars. Creamy Coffee Icing: Cream butter with confectioners sugar. Add coffee, enough to make an icing of spreading consistency; mix until smooth. Description: "Coffee flavors these molasses cookies and the frosting they wear." Source: "Homemade Cookies" S(Formatted by): "Moonchild2488" Copyright: "1971 Farm Journal, Inc." Here is a link that might be useful: Farm Journal Cookie/Bar recipes posted at Taste of Home

Terri, I think that this might work... The dough hold it's shape and you could leave out the chocolate chips. They are very good...that much is for sure! Refrigerate the dough and just roll out. WORLD PEACE COOKIES Dorie Greenspan Deeply chocolaty World Peace Cookies will be a hit, either passed after dinner or as a gift. Servings: Makes about 36 cookies \-\-These cookies, the brainchild of Parisian pastry chef Pierre Herm with whom Dorie Greenspan wrote "Desserts by Pierre Hermé," caused Greenspan's neighbor, Richard Gold, to say that a daily dose of these is all that is needed to ensure planetary peace and happiness. You can't eat just one. The salt is important to the taste; don't skimp on it. Ingredients: 1 1/4 cups all\-purpose flour 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1/2 tsp. baking soda 1 stick plus 3 Tbsps. (11 Tbsps. altogether) unsalted butter, at room temperature 2/3 cup packed light\-brown sugar 1/4 cup sugar 1/2 tsp. fleur de sel or 1/4 tsp. fine sea salt 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract 5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chips, or a generous 3/4 cup store\- bought mini chocolate chips 1\. Sift flour, cocoa and baking soda together. 2\. Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat butter on medium speed until soft and creamy. Add both sugars, salt and vanilla extract and beat 2 minutes longer. 3\. Turn off mixer. Pour in dry ingredients; drape a kitchen towel over stand mixer to protect yourself and your kitchen from flying flour and pulse the mixer at low speed about 5 times, a second or two each time. Take a peek \-\- if there is still a lot of flour on the surface of the dough, pulse a couple more times; if not, remove the towel. Continuing at low speed, mix for about 30 seconds longer, just until the flour disappears into the dough \-\- for the best texture, work the dough as little as possible once the flour is added, and don't be concerned if the dough looks a little crumbly. Toss in the chocolate pieces and mix only enough to incorporate. 4\. Turn dough out onto a work surface, gather it together and divide it into half. Working with half at a time, shape dough into logs that are 11/2 inches in diameter. Wrap logs in plastic wrap and refrigerate them for at least 3 hours. (The dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months. If you've frozen the dough, you needn't defrost it before baking \-\- just slice the logs into cookies and bake 1 minute longer.) 5\. When ready to bake, center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats. 6\. Using a sharp, thin knife, slice logs into rounds that are 1/2 inch thick. (The rounds may crack as you're cutting them; don't be concerned, just squeeze the bits back onto each cookie.) Arrange rounds on baking sheets, leaving about 1 inch between them. 7\. Bake cookies 1 sheet at a time for 12 minutes. They won't look done nor will they be firm, but that's just the way they should be. Transfer the baking sheet to a cooling rack and let the cookies rest until they are just warm, at which point you can serve them, or wait until they are room temperature. ................................. Nancy

My GD will be here this weekend, I think we'll make these. So cute! I do wonder about something in the recipe, though. It says to roll the dough out to 3/4 inch thickness. Three quarters of an inch is REALLY thick. I'll probably do mine more like 3/8.