Holiday Treats

Every year I tell myself that I will not be a slave to holiday baking. One or two weeks into December I am hit with an overwhelming urge to bake mountains of cookies and bars. I start looking at wonderful gingerbread houses, and can't fight the need to build a candy monstrosity.

Four weeks later I am fighting the urge to join Weight Watchers for the tenth time and vow never to eat that many goodies again.

Yesterday we were house bound and bored. The cold winds here have made playing outside difficult and the kids are restless. I suggested a cookie baking session. My kids love to watch me bake, and Conroy is never far away, wanting to taste every single ingredient before it goes in the batter. His favorite is the sugar, he doesn't care for the baking powder. I refuse to let him try the raw eggs.

The first year we were married, Nathan bought me a cookbook for Christmas. It is a large hardcover book by Good Housekeeping. Almost all of the recipe's have been excellent and I love the fact that it has sections that tell you how many teaspoons are in a cup, or explain the best time of year to try fresh fruit and veggies.

Yesterday I came across a recipe for Spritz Cookies. The ingredients are few and it is (or can be) dairy, egg and nut free. It does recommend a cookie press, but since I do not own one of those (one day!) I just rolled the dough into little balls and then pressed them with a fork. This is the kind of recipe that can be thrown together quickly. The results are a wonderfully soft, melt-in-your-mouth cookie that is so light, it is easy to over indulge! It also makes about 60 cookies, great for sharing or for that cookie exchange that snuck up on you! The recipe is at the bottom - enjoy!

Spritz Cookies
by Good Housekeepng

1 cup butter or margarine, softened
3/4 cup confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups flour
1/8 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat over to 350 F. In large bowl, with mixer at medium speed, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla and almond extracts. Reduce speed to low and beat in flour and salt until well combined.
2. Spoon one third of batter into a cookie press and press 1 inch apart on two ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake until golden brown around edges 10-12 minutes. (If you are rolling and pressing like I did, use the 12 minutes as the cookies are thicker than if you used a press.)
4. Repeat with remaining dough. Makes about 60 cookies.

Each cookie: About 48 calories, 5g Carbohydrates, 3g total fat, 8mg cholesterol, 36mg sodium.