Holiday Hello Cookies

My cousin, Janet Nidenberg, dresses up her holiday table in Brooklyn Heights, New York, with edible place cards made from cookies stamped in the shape of a holly leaf and decorated with festive trimmings. Her recipe is the same butter cookie she made as a child with her late grandmother.

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 egg yolks, beaten

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Green sugar crystals
Tubes of red and green decorators' icing with tips
Red gumdrops

Instructions

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter with an electric mixer on medium-low speed. Add the sugar, salt and vanilla extract and continue creaming until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolks. Gradually add the flour until thoroughly combined. Gather the dough into a large ball, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Cut the ball of dough into 1/2-inch slabs, and roll each to a 1/4-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Use a holly cookie cutter to cut out the cookies. Arrange them 1/2 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Sprinkle with green sugar and lightly press the sugar into the dough.
Bake, one batch at a time, for 10 to 14 minutes or until set and golden. Cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
Bake, one batch at a time, for 10 to 14 minutes or until set and golden. Cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely. To decorate the cookies, write the name in the center of the cookie and pipe icing along the edges. Use icing to attach red gumdrop "holly berries." Allow the icing to harden before placing on the table. Makes five dozen 3-inch cookies.
Kids' Steps: The whole family can get creative with these personalized sugar cookies. Kids can measure ingredients, roll and cut out dough, and decorate cookies for family members, friends and teachers.