Poinsetta Cookies

Part 4 of the Holiday Cookie Series--these were my favorite cookies to make and eat. They are light and crisp. They are a bit tedious to make, but in the end they are so impressive that it's worth it to me.

Ingredients:
¾ cups of butter, softened
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 egg, separated
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 cup red sugar
20 green M-n-Ms

1. With a paddle attachment, beat butter, cream cheese and egg yolk until smooth, reserving the egg white for later.

2. Stir in flour and baking powder. Mix until stiff dough forms. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

3. Lightly beat egg white and set aside.

4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

5. On lightly floured surface, roll dough ½ at a time, into a 15 x 9 inch rectangle. With a sharp knife, cut dough into 3” squares. Place them 3” apart on parchment paper on a cookie sheet.

6. Brush with egg white.

7. With a sharp knife, cut the dough diagonally from each corner to within ½” of the center of each square.



8. Sprinkle about 1 tsp of red sugar on each square and fold alternate corners of the square to the center to form a pinwheel, overlapping the dough at the center and pushing down the center to seal.



9. Press one M-n-M into the center of each pinwheel.



10. Bake for 9-12 minutes or until set. Remove immediately from cooking sheets.

Bon Appetit!
the Food Whore