Sugar Plum Dreams Cookies

From Betty Crocker's "Bake Up A Story," posted by request. Prep time does not include chilling time. The recipe I had did not specify number of servings.

• Ready In: 1 hr 22 mins
• Yields: 40 per rolled out sheet

Ingredients

• 3 1⁄2 cups flour
• 1  cup butter
• 1⁄4 cup warm water
• 2  eggs, slightly beaten
• 1  tablespoon  almond extract (or other flavor)
• 1  teaspoon salt
• 2 1⁄4 teaspoons  yeast (1 package)
• 3⁄4 cup sour cream
•  sugar
•  food coloring

Directions

1. Cover cookie sheets with foil or parchment paper.
2. In a bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Cut in the cold butter.
3. Dissolve the yeast in the 1/4 cup warm water. Add the eggs, sour cream and flavoring. Cover and chill for 2 hours, but it can sit longer if necessary. The dough does not need to rise.
4. Make colored sugar by mixing sugar with food coloring.
5. Preheat the oven to 350.
6. Sprinkle some of the colored sugar in whatever color you desire onto wax paper.
7. Divide dough into thirds, and return the remainder to the refrigerator.
8. Roll the dough out to a 10" x 8" rectangle, then fold the ends in to the center. Resugar the surface and roll out again to an 10x8 inch rectangle. Repeat the rolling and folding process 2 more times (a total of 3).
9. Cut rolled out dough into 4" by 1/2" strips, then twist and shape as desired -- candy canes, rosettes, pretzels, rope twists, etc. Place the cookies on the prepared cookie sheets
10. Bake immediately, 10 to 12 minutes. Watch carefully as the sugar has a tendency to burn the cookies. When done, remove from the sheets at once.