Swedish Spritz Cookies

1 c Butter or margarine

1/2 c Granulated sugar

1 Egg yolk

1 ts Almond extract

2 1/2 c All-purpose flour

Recipe by: Midwest Living, December 1994 Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add the egg yolk and almond extract; beat well. Beat or stir in the flour. Force the unchilled dough through a cookie press onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the edges are firm but not brown. Cool the cookies on wire racks. Penny Halsey (ATBN65B). Variations: For a nutty cookie, stir in 1/2 cup finely ground nuts with the flour. Toast the nuts before grinding,if you like. For a chocolate cookie, reduce the flour to 2 1/4 cups. Add an additional 1/4 cup granulated sugar and 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder. Add the cocoa before adding the flour. If you like, dip the tops of the cookies in icing; then, sprinkle with chopped nuts or colored sugar. Or sprinkle on the decorative toppings before baking. For a marbled dough, alternately put about 1/4 cup of each color of dough in a cookie press. Or put some coloring on white dough and knead it a few times to marble; then place in the cookie press.
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