Christmas Bell Cookies

 When BitBoy was actually a boy, and not a grown man like he is now, I let him pick a new Christmas cookie to make.  He wasn't reading at the time, so picked this recipe based completely on a picture in the classic Betty Crocker Cooky Book.  My copy is from my childhood, held together with tape. The cover of my book is missing, as is the title page, I can only guess that it was printed in the late 70' or 1980 at the latest.  It's now a required Christmas cookie for all of the kids.

Christmas Bell Cookies

1/2 cup shortening (butter is best)

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/4 tsp soda

1/2 tsp salt

cream shortening, sugar, egg and vanilla together

stir flour, soda, and salt together, blend in

Color 2/3 of the dough red or green, then mold into a roll and freeze.

(Roll can be triangle for a green tree, or bell shaped for green and red bells)

Roll out not-colored dough into a sheet, wrap it around the chilled/frozen log of colored dough

Freeze again

to bake cookies, slice from roll ~1/8" thick and place ` 1/2" apart on ungreased cookie sheet.

Place cinnamon candies (like Red Hots) on cookie as bell clapper or tree ornaments.
(original recipe calls for using un-tinted dough for clapper, trust me, cinnamon hots are better)

Bake at 375 (F) for 8-10 minutes
( 350 (F) for convection oven)

makes 5 doz cookies

Notes:

This is a small recipe, so if you want two colors of bells, rather than split the dough, it's easiest and most efficient to make three batches.  Color 2 whatever colors you want, then leave the 3rd uncolored and split in half to make wraps for each colored log.