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 found the Cookie Art Exchange which includes some recipes (look for Cookie Recipes in the left-hand column under "Brown Bag Cookie Art". Here are some additional recipes from the small booklet that came with my cookie mold, from Brown Bag Cookie Art: Chocolate Cookies Follow the recipe for Sugar Cookies at the web site, but add 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa to the sugar. Do not chill the dough. Mold as directed. =============================================== Orange Spice Cookies 1/2 cup butter - softened 1/2 cup light brown sugar - packed 1 egg (medium or large) 1 Tablespoon grated orange rind 1 tsp. grated lemon rind 1 Tablespoon orange liquor 1/2 tsp. cinnamon 1/4 tsp. ground cloves 1/8 tsp. allspice 1/4 tsp. salt 2 cups flour - scoop measured (use your measuring cup to scoop flour from the bag, then level) Thoroughly cream the softened butter and sugar together by hand or with a mixer. Beat in the egg (if using a mixer, use the slowest speed), the grated orange and lemon rinds, and the orange liquor. In a separate bowl, mix all the dry ingredients, then stir them into the butter mixture. Knead for a minute. Chill the dough for 30 minutes and mold cookies as directed. Bake at 350° in the top third of your oven for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are nicely browned. ============== Enjoy! Jen

Have any of you tried Oreo Cookie Balls yet? My husband brought me one home that someone at his office made. It was so good! I plan to make them for our holiday party this year. They sound very easy to make. Only three ingredients and no baking. If any of you are familiar with chocolate wafer ice box cake these work on the same principle. 1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened 36 OREO Cookies, finely crushed (about 3 cups) 4 pkg. (4 oz. each) BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, broken into pieces, melted MIX cream cheese and cookie crumbs until blended. SHAPE into 48 (1-inch) balls. Freeze 10 min. Dip balls in melted chocolate; place in single layer in shallow waxed paper-lined pan. REFRIGERATE 1 hour or until firm. Here is a link that might be useful: Oreo cookie balls

Thanks very much for your help everyone! I checked out the dessert exchange thread and also Robin's cookie exchange. A bunch of good ideas, now I just have to choose which recipe to make and how many rules I want to impose. Eileen, I found your Polish Tea Cookies, and they sound wonderful! They will definitely will be part of my Christmas cookie collection this year. You guys are great! Chris