Cream Cheese Christmas (Holiday) Cookies

My Grandmother taught me this recipe when I was very young. Now, I can't go a Christmas without making these cookies! I usually make a double batch of these and pass them out to everyone, but here's the recipe for a single batch. You can also use this recipe for ANY holiday, not just Christmas.

• Ready In: 55 mins
• Serves: 32-38
• Yields: 5-6 dozen cookies

Ingredients

• 1  cup sugar
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1  cup  softened butter
• 3  ounces  softened cream cheese
• 1⁄2 teaspoon  almond extract
• 1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1  egg yolk
• 2 1⁄4 cups flour

Directions

1. Mix sugar, salt, butter, cream cheese, almond and vanilla extract, and egg yolk together well.
2. Stir in flour until well blended.
3. Chill dough for at least 30 minutes (I've chilled mine a little less than 24 hours but I wouldn't suggest going over that.).
4. After You've taken the dough out of the chilled area (sometimes I use the garage) Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
5. On a lightly floured surface roll out 1/3-1/2 of the dough.
6. Cut the dough to holiday shapes and place on an ungreased pan. (The cookies do not expand very much while cooking, so you can place them close together.).
7. Here's where you can use the egg white! Spread the egg white over the top of the cookie and add sprinkle if you would like, or leave them plain and add frosting later!
8. Bake the cookies 10 minutes (or until they're a light brown).
9. Let cookies cool completely before adding any frosting.