Holly Wreath Cookies Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 cups ground almonds
• ICING:
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 24 green spice gumdrops
• 16 red spice gumdrops

Directions

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in egg. Combine the flour, cream of tartar and baking soda; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in almonds. Divide in half. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or until easy to handle.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out one portion of dough to 3/8-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 2-1/2-in. round cookie cutter. Place on ungreased baking sheets; cut out centers using a floured 1-in. round cookie cutter.
• Bake at 375° for 8-9 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool for 2 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough. Chill and reroll scraps if desired.
• In a bowl, whisk confectioners' sugar and milk until smooth; gently spread over cookies. For holly trim, roll out gumdrops to 1/16-in. thickness; cut two holly leaves from each green gumdrop and nine berries from each red gumdrop. Arrange one leaf and three berries on each cookie. Yield: 4 dozen.

Holly Wreath Cookies published in Country Woman November/December 2006, p37