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.

A lot of Italian families have Biscotti with their breakfast coffee: Sobe Biscotti Makes 32 biscotti Source: Burt Wolf's Local Flavors, Miami, Florida The Miami Beach restaurant Nemo serves these biscotti with an assortment of fruit sorbets. Pastry chef Hedy Goldsmith suggests an easy way to line the loaf pan with foil. "Invert the loaf pan and mold the foil around the outside. Turn the pan over and place the molded foil right in the pan." 4 ounces (1 1/2 cups) thinly-sliced almonds Butter or Pam vegetable spray 4 eggs, separated 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice 3/4 cup sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/4 teaspoon salt Grated zest of 1 lemon, finely grated 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour 1/2 cup dried sour cherries 1/2 cup dried cranberries Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the almonds out on a baking sheet and toast for 10 minutes, until golden brown. Set aside to cool. Line a 5 x 9 1/2-inch loaf pan with foil on all sides. Butter or spray Pam all over the inside of the pan and set aside. TO PREPARE THE BATTER: Place the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer with the whisk attachment. Beat the egg whites with the lemon juice until they just begin to hold stiff peaks. Gradually add 1/4 cup of the sugar to the whites and continue to beat on high until they hold firm, stiff peaks. Transfer the beaten whites to a large mixing bowl. In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolks, vanilla, and salt together until the mixture becomes thick and then add the lemon zest. With a wide blade rubber spatula, fold this egg yolk mixture into the beaten whites, once it is incorporated, gradually add the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar. Then fold in the sifted flour and then the toasted almonds, cherries and cranberries. Turn the batter out into the prepared loaf pan. Use the back of a spoon, dipped in water, to smooth out the top. Place the loaf pan into the oven and bake for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, cover the loaf pan with a piece of foil. This will prevent the top of the loaf from becoming too brown. Return the loaf to the oven and continue to bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center. Remove the loaf from the oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes. Invert the loaf onto a plate, remove the foil, and immediately wrap with a fresh piece of foil. Allow to cool to room temperature and then place into the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight. FOR THE SECOND BAKING: Place the two oven racks on the top third and the bottom third of the oven to create two tiers and preheat the oven to 275 degrees F. Unwrap the loaf and using a serrated knife, cut the loaf into 1/4-inch thick slices. Place the slices on a baking sheet and bake two sheets at a time until the cookies are lightly golden: this should take about 30 minutes. You want the cookies to be dry and crisp, but not too dark in color. Halfway during the baking, reverse the baking sheets to ensure that they cook evenly. Once the cookies are dry and crisp, place them on a cooling rack to cool completely and then serve. Store in an airtight container. Recipe courtesy of Pastry chef Hedy Goldsmith, Nemo, Miami Beach, Florida

This is a Martha Stewart recipe I haven't tried yet. You could sub 4 drops of oil of anise for the vanilla. And add 1/4 tsp. cardamom. Would love to see your recipe if you find it. Pfeffernussen The snowy sugar surface of Pfeffernussen contrasts with the peppery flavor of these German cookies. Makes 3 dozen 1 1/4 cups pd sugar 2 1/4 cups flour 1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon 1/2 tsp ground allspice 1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg 1/4 tsp ground cloves 1/4 tsp baking soda 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature 3/4 cup firmly packed light-brown sugar 1 large egg 1/4 cup unsulfured molasses 1/2 tsp vanilla extract Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Place the confectioners' sugar in a brown paper bag. In a medium bowl, combine flour, pepper, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, cloves, and baking soda. Set aside. Place butter, brown sugar, and molasses in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in egg and vanilla. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture; beat until just combined. Pinch off dough in tablespoon amounts; roll into 1 1/4-inch balls. Arrange balls 1 1/2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. (Dough can be frozen at this point, covered tightly with plastic wrap, up to 1 month.) Bake until cookies are golden and firm to the touch with slight cracking, about 15 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Transfer sheets to a wire rack to cool slightly, about 10 minutes. Working in batches, place cookies in paper bag; shake until well coated. Let cool completely on wire rack. Store in an airtight container. From Holiday Baking 2002, Special Issue 2002

Here's a couple thumbprint cookies that are tried & true. Imake them every year. Chocolate Caramel Treasures Cookie type: formed These are another variation of thumbprint cookie. This recipe came from Gourmet Magazine, December 1999. Ingredients For the cookies: 1 stick unsalted butter, softened 2/3 cup sugar 1 egg yolk 1 teas vanilla 1 cup flour 2 tbsp whole milk 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1/4 teas salt 1 egg white, lightly beaten 1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts For the filling: 10 (1 x 1/2 inch) plain caramels, 2 tbsp heavy cream For the drizzle: 3 oz semisweet chocolate, finely chopped Directions For the cookies: Beat together butter, yolk, milk, sugar, and vanilla until well blended. Sift in flour, cocoa, and salt and mix until mixture forms a dough. Chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll tablespoons of dough into balls, then coat with egg white, and roll in nuts. Place balls 1 1/2 inches apart on a greased baking sheets. Press your thumb into center of the balls to flatten, leaving a depression. Bake until puffed slightly but centers are still soft, 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately press centers of cookies again with a spoon. Let cool. Make the filling while cookies are cooling. Heat caramels and cream in a small sauce pan over low heat, stirring occasionally, until melted and mixture is smooth. Spoon into centers of cookies and cool completely. Make chocolate drizzle one hour before serving. Melt chocolate in a double boiler or a metal bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, stirring until smooth. Cool to warm and pour into a heavy-duty sealable plastic bag. Seal bag and snip 1 corner to form a small hole. Drizzle chocolate over cookies and let stand until set, about 30 minutes. *I never bother with the drizzle. I also usually use walnuts and not hazelnuts. ***************** Austrian Jam Cookies Cookie type: formed My mom originally got the recipe out of a magazine years ago. I don’t know what magazine. These cookies nowadays go by the name thumb print cookies. I like to call them Austrian Jam cookies because they sound more sophisticated that way. I usually double the batch. A single batch will make about 15-18 cookies. A double batch, you will get closer to 3 dozen. Ingredients 1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened (not melted) 1/2 cup sugar 1 teas vanilla* 1 egg, separated 1 1/4 cup sifted flour 2/3 cup chopped almonds** your favorite flavor of jam Directions Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Beat butter, sugar, vanilla and egg yolk in a medium bowl until fluffy. Stir in flour. Gather dough into a ball, cover and chill for several hours. Roll level teaspoonful of dough into balls. Dip the ball into a slightly beaten egg white. Roll the ball into the almonds. Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Space cookies 1 inch apart. These cookies will not spread very much. Press an indentation with your thumb in the middle of the cookie, careful not to go all the way through to the pan. Fill with jam. Bake at 300 degrees for 20 minutes. *Almond extract can be used in place of real vanilla. ** Generally, I think the almonds are a little too hard for the rest of the cookie. I usually use walnuts or pecans. I like using Polaners preserves for the jam centers. I have also used Smuckers as well as homemade jam.