Sweetheart Cookies!

These are a wonderful gem of a cookie. A butter cookie to be exact. They fill the air with the scent of memories. There is nothing better than the smell of a butter cookie baking, you can try to argue with me on that, but I will stand firm. This is a recipe from my Great Aunt Gertie. My sisters and I would spend afternoons at her house, playing on the lawn that my Great Uncle Jim had planted entirely in putting green grass. She would give us fruit punch flavored soda and pretzels and other snacks and we would play cards and putt golf balls into a little holder. She is, without a doubt, the best baker in my family. She made these perfect itty bitty cookies. Always almost completely uniform in shape. This cookie is sweet, but not too sweet, and the currant jelly baked into the center gives a nice tartness as well as making them glisten like jewels. They are small enough to just pop into your mouth, but trust me, you will want to eat them slowly and savor their buttery delight. These are an excellent cookie to make for Christmas gifts but they also are great for tea or just as a small treat at the end of a hard day.

Sweetheart Cookies:'
3/4 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1 egg yolk
1 1/2 cups A.P. flour
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-Cream the butter, sugar and pinch of salt for 10 minutes on low speed
-add the yolk and mix to blend
-add the flour and mix just until blended.
-Chill dough, covered in a bowl overnight.
The next day:
-heat oven to 350f
-roll dough into tiny little balls, less than an inch across.
-make a small indentation in the center of the balls (I like to use the handle of a smaller wooden spoon, or the wide end of chopsticks.....even your little finger will do).
-fill each indentation with currant jelly. I put a few tablespoons of the jelly into a plastic baggie and cut out the corner and use it to pipe in the jelly. It's much less messy than using a spoon.
-bake cookies for about 12 to 15 minutes, or until a bit golden around the edges.
-let cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet, then toss warm cookies in powdered sugar
-cool on rack and enjoy!

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