Rita Gerlach's Christmas cookie recipe!

This is one of my favorite cookie recipes at Christmastime. I've made them for as long as I can remember. They were a big hit with my boys when they were little, and remain a family tradition to this day. Use your favorite cookie cutters. You can decorate them with sprinkles or ice them when they are cool. A tip to adding sprinkles is to brush the cookies with a bit of water and then add the candies. This recipe can be used for any holiday.Christmas Shortbread Cookies

3 cups of flour

1/2 teaspoon of baking powder

Mix these together in a bowl and set aside

2 sticks of butter softened.

1 cup of sugar

1 egg

1 tablespoon of your favorite extract. (I prefer almond.)

First, using an electric mixer, blend the butter until very smooth and creamy. Then add the sugar gradually...egg, and then extract.Add the flour mixture slowly. You can refrigerate the dough to make it easier to roll out.Tip: To roll out the dough, lay a piece of wax paper on a counter top or table. Place some dough on it, then another sheet of wax paper. Roll the dough out with a rolling pin. Cut into shapes and lift carefully off the wax paper. Place on cookie sheets. Add sprinkles.Bake at 32510-12 minutesCool on a baking rack before decorating with icing.

Rita Gerlach lives with her husband and two sons in a historical town in central Maryland, nestled along the Catoctin Mountains, amid Civil War battlefields and Revolutionary War outposts. Her newest novel, Surrender the Wind, has received four stars from Romantic Times Magazine, and has been heralded by readers and book clubs as a page-turner, and one of the best historicals they've read this year.

Rita's Website: http://ritagerlach.com/
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