Chou Chou'S Spritz Cookie

-Work the butter until soft and cream (smoosh) with sugar.

-You must beat the butter and sugar until it is very, very light and fluffy, like pale yellow whipped cream. You must do it with an electric mixer (a cheap hand held one is fine) a processor won't work. It may take you 10 minute to get it as fluffy as possible, without melting it down.

-After this point, work quickly and gently. If you overwork the dough after

the eggs and /or flour are added the cookie won't be tender.

-Add beaten egg and almond flavoring and mix in until smooth. Add flour sifted with other ingredients and stir to form a dough.

-Mold with a cookie press (not the easiest thing first time, but fun once you get the hang of it) into any

desired shapes.

-Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet 12 to 15 min. at...the

recipe says 375, but I've always found 350 nice for these cookies. (You preheat your oven, of course). What you're after is a pale, barely browning cookie. It will be soft when you remove it from the hot pan (if you wait it will stick a little and might break) but will firm up as it cools.

Variations:

-Toss some in confectioner's sugar while still warm.

-Gently melt chocolate chips and: Dip some in, face down, and then in finely chopped pecans

-Drag 1/2 a cookie in chocolate so it is partly covered

-Put some melted chocolate in a sandwich baggie, snip a corner (tiny snip) and use to decorate cookie, like a mini, disposable pastry tube

-Mix confectioner's sugar with a few drops of water and vanilla and use as icing on some leave some of the prettiest ones plain

-Put 2 or 3 of each kind in muffin paper cups and be proud, very proud.