It's National Cookie Day!

One of my favorite bloggers, Steve from Burnt Food Dude, is putting together an awesome post all about cookies!  I love cookies!  I love eating cookies, and I really love baking cookies!  In fact, my mom, my sister and I actually have cookie days in December when we get together and bake cookies all day.  Then at the end of the day, we split the goodies.  It's so much fun!  The kids have fun, too, especially my girls.  I love that this is something we all do together.

I was going to make some Christmas cookies for this post, but it just so happens to be Brandi's birthday today, too.  In her honor, I took one of my favorite Christmas cookie recipes...spritz cookies...and made them girly for her birthday.  Check them out:

Spritz Cookies
(this is not my own recipe...I got it years ago out of one of my mom's cook books, thought I can't remember which one)

1 1/2 cups butter
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract

Preheat oven to 375*.

Beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds.  Add 1 cup of the flour, the sugar, egg, baking powder, vanilla, and almond extract.  Beat until thoroughly combined.  Beat in remaining flour.

Take un-chilled dough and put it into your cookie press.  I have a pampered chef one, and it comes with a bunch of different disks.  Today I made the hearts and butterflies.  For Christmas, I usually make the trees.   It's also fun to use food gels and dye the dough green for those.  I always use some type of sprinkle, because they make them look so pretty! 

Bake 8-10 minutes.  I like to bake just until they start to brown, that way they stay soft.

I hope you enjoy these cookies if you decide to make them, and make sure you check out Steve's cookie post to find more delicious cookie recipes!