Like many of you, I’m caught up in Christmas preparations and loving every minute of it. One thing I tell myself I’m not going to succumb to every year, yet every year I do, is baking and candy making. If goodies are lying around, I’ll eat the bulk of them so it’s best to keep them out of the house. One cookie I can never say no to, however, is my Christmas favorite, Almond Butter Sticks. I’ll share the recipe with you so you, too, can delight in these sinful, buttery, sugary, almond cookies. I got the recipe from my mom and don’t know where she got the recipe from, or I’d give that person their proper credit. If you decide to make these, make sure your kitchen isn’t too warm and, once the cookies are baked, be prepared for the platter to empty quickly. Note: they are also delicious straight out of the freezer. If anyone wants to experiment and try other flavors of extract other than almond, let me know what you thought of the results. I’ve wondered how coconut extract would be in these but it’s hard to veer from a tried and true favorite. Enjoy!

Almond Butter Sticks

1 cup Butter or Margarine
8 ounces Cream Cheese
2 ¼ cups Flour
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1/8 teaspoon Salt
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1 cup Sugar (plus more if needed)
4 teaspoons almond extract
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Mix the first five ingredients together and roll out on a flat surface into a large rectangle. Mix sugar and almond extract together, pat onto half of the rectangle. Fold the dough over to cover the sugar and roll out again. Repeat until all of the sugar is used up (five or six times). Once all the sugar is incorporated into the dough, roll again into a rectangle, cut into strips and bake at 400° for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. We like to sprinkle on red or green sugar sprinkles before baking to make the cookies look more festive.