3 and cups flour (no need to sift)

1 cup finely chopped nuts 47

More powdered sugar for coating cookies

Melt the b.u.t.ter in a microwave-safe bowl for 60 seconds on HIGH, or in a pan on the stovetop over MEDIUM heat.

In a large mixing bowl, mix the melted b.u.t.ter and the powdered sugar together.

Add the vanilla, nutmeg, and salt. Mix well.

Add the flour in one-cup increments, mixing after each addition.

Stir in the nuts. (If you work quickly, while the b.u.t.ter is still warm, the dough will be softer and easier to mix.) Form the dough into one-inch b.a.l.l.s (just pat them into shape with your impeccably clean fingers), and place them on an ungreased cookie sheet, 12 to a standard-size sheet.

Bake the Little s...o...b..a.l.l.s at 350 degrees F., for 10 minutes, or until they are "set" (that means no longer squishy) but not browned.

Let the cookies cool for two minutes and then roll them in powdered sugar. (You must do this while they"re still warm.) Place them on a wire rack and let them cool thoroughly.

When the cookies are cool, roll them in powdered sugar a second time. Let them rest for several minutes on the rack and then store them in a cookie jar or a covered bowl.

MERRY BERRY COOKIES.

DO NOT preheat the oven this cookie dough has to chill before baking.

1 and cups melted b.u.t.ter (3 sticks, 12 ounces, pound)

2 cups white (granulated) sugar

cup melted raspberry, blackberry, strawberry, or any

berry jam (I used Knott"s seedless raspberry)

2 beaten eggs

teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

4 cups flour (pack it down in the cup when you measure

don"t sift it)

cup white (granulated) sugar for later

cup berry jam for later

Melt the b.u.t.ter in a large microwave-safe bowl. Add the white sugar and mix it in thoroughly. Let the bowl sit on the counter while you do the next step.

Melt the jam in the microwave or in a saucepan over low heat. Once it"s the consistency of syrup, mix it in with the b.u.t.ter and sugar.

Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition.

Mix in the baking soda and salt. Stir until they"re thoroughly incorporated.

Add the flour in one-cup increments, mixing after each addition. Give a final stir, cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap, and refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours. (Overnight"s even better.) When you"re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.

Place cup sugar in a small bowl on the counter. You"ll use it to coat your cookies.

Roll the chilled dough into walnut-sized b.a.l.l.s with your impeccably clean hands. Roll the b.a.l.l.s in the bowl with the sugar, and then place them on a greased standard-sized cookie sheet, 12 cookies to a sheet. (Alternatively, you can spray your cookie sheets with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray instead of greasing them, or simply line them with parchment paper.) Flatten the dough b.a.l.l.s with a greased spatula. Make a small indentation with your thumb or index finger in the center of each cookie. Fill the indentation with a small bit of jam (about teaspoon.) Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes at 350 degrees F. Let them cool for 2 minutes on the cookie sheet, and then transfer them to a wire rack to finish cooling. (If you used parchment paper, all you have to do is pull the cookie-laden paper onto the wire rack.) These cookies freeze well. Roll them up in foil, put them in a freezer bag. You may want to be sneaky about labeling the cookies or the kids will find them and eat them frozen. (If you write "Pork Kidneys" on the freezer bag, the kids will probably leave them alone.) Yield: 8 to 10 dozen pretty and tasty cookies, depending on cookie size.

*MINCEMEAT COOKIES.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F., rack in the middle position.

1 and cups white (granulated) sugar

1 cup (2 sticks, 8 ounces, pound) salted b.u.t.ter, softened

3 large eggs

teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 and cups mincemeat (I used Crosse & Blackwell

Mincemeat Filling & Topping)

3 cups all-purpose flour (pack it down in the cup when you

measure it)

4 to 5 dozen walnut halves

OR.

cup vanilla cream glaze (glaze recipe follows the cookie

recipe)