Cookies Around the World 4 of 5

This is a great recipe for variety (English, French, Greek, German, Flemish, Italian, Swedish, Norwegian, Turkish, Mexican). I have split them up two to a recipe but if you want them all, there are 5 separate recipes. They are made from one basic cookie dough. I think some of them may be posted individually, but at Christmas I make the entire variety. Each batch of basic dough makes a batch of two of the cookies with the ingredients I have listed.

• Ready In: 1 hr
• Serves: 20

Ingredients

• BASIC COOKIE DOUGH

• 1  cup butter or 1  cup margarine, softened
• 1 1⁄2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1  egg
• 1  teaspoon vanilla
• 2 1⁄2 cups all-purpose flour

• SWEDISH RUBY DROPS

• 1⁄2 cup  favorite  jelly
• 1⁄4 cup  colored crystal sugar (optional)
• 1⁄4 cup  finely chopped  nuts (optional)

• NORWEGIAN WREATHS

• 1  teaspoon orange zest
• 1  egg white, slightly beaten
• 2  tablespoons granulated sugar
• 12  candied red cherries
• 12  green glazed cherries or 12  citron

Directions

1. BASIC COOKIE DOUGH:
2. Cream butter and sugar.
3. Beat in egg and vanilla.
4. Add flour slowly, and mix well.
5. Divide in two.
6. SWEDISH RUBY DROPS.
7. Use 1/2 cookie dough.
8. Preheat oven to 375.
9. Shape cookie dough by rounded teaspoon into balls.
10. Balls can be rolled in colored sugar or dip in slightly beaten egg white and roll in finely chopped nuts.
11. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheet.
12. Press thumb deeply into center of each.
13. Bake 10-12 minutes or until set but not brown.
14. Fill thumbprint with jelly.
15. NORWEGIAN WREATHS.
16. Preheat oven to 375.
17. Mix into 1/2 basic dough- orange peel.
18. Shape dough by rounded teaspoonfulls into pencil-like strips about 5 inches long.
19. Form strip into a circle, overlapping 1/2 inch at each end.
20. Brush tops with slightly beaten egg white.
21. Sprinkle with granulated sugar.
22. Press bits of red cherries on center of overlap for berries.
23. Add leaves chopped from green cherries.
24. Bake on ungreased baking sheet 8-10 minutes until set but not brown.
25. Immediately remove from baking sheet.