I had no idea that somewhere between the apartment and the move to Thomas Run, my set of very small cookie cutters disappeared. When I went searching for them in the drawer that holds "all odd kitchen things that I'm looking for", they weren't there. I could only find a cow, a scottie dog, a jumping deer, and a small circle I use to make clay buttons. So these will have to do.

These aren't exactly the most festive of holiday cookie shapes. In my mind, I kept thinking about "maids a-milking....cows?" in order to classify the cookies as "Christmas-y". But the girls were downright demanding that they be "cows jumping over the moon". And is it just me, or does a Scottie Dog not just scream Christmas to you? Okay, maybe I'm pushing it. Oh well, red and green sprinkles, seemed to do the trick.

Anyway....I've always thought of myself as a chewy, soft cookie kind of girl. But these cookies when rolled out paper-thin and cut with small cookie cutters are buttery, crisp and crunchy.

This is a family recipe. I hope I don't get ostrasized for sharing it....

2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter
1 egg
2 teaspoons of vanilla.
(You can also add a drop or two of almond extract. Almond flavor makes my stomach turn. I leave it out.)

Mix the butter, eggs and sugar. Add the flour and vanilla. Divide into 4 balls, wrap, and refrigerate over night or at least 3 hours. Roll out thin--(this is the key). You may need extra flour. Decorate. Bake at 350, for about 8 minutes. (but watch them carefully)

And if I remember, I've also frozen a few balls of the dough for later. I set them out in the morning to come to room temperature and they are ready by mid-afternoon.

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PS. I've somehow managed to royally screw up my blog in my attempt to change domain names--all this technical stuff is bogging me down. So if your feed is not working, or if no one shows up to read my post, I'm going to blame it on technical difficulty. I hope I have some answers tomorrow.