Pistachio Slices

These delicate flavored cookies look so pretty and live up any platter.

You can layer the three flavors or make any one individual flavor. Be sure and chill dough before rolling or slicing. Use powdered sugar for rolling and shaping the dough. Flour will make the dough tough. Sprinkle rolling pin with powdered sugar. Use cooking oil spray such as Pam and lightly spray the cookie sheet. Use your hand to spread the spray evenly on the pan. Do not under bake. This is a mistake many cookie makers make when it says lightly browned. It means the edges will have a nice golden color. The tops will not look raw. The following are ideas for using the dough besides the original recipe: You can roll them into logs and slice. Brush each log with egg whites and roll in nuts before slicing. Tint the dough three different pastel colors and gently mix together until swirled and roll into a log. Brush top with egg white and sprinkle with nuts before baking. Brush top with egg white and place one whole nut or nut halve on top. I get easily bored and often use one dough to create many types of cookies so experiment.

1 cup sugar

1 cup butter

Cream butter and add sugar and cream well:

1 egg

1 tsp. Vanilla

Add egg and vanilla and cream:

2 1/2 cups of flour

1/4 tsp. Salt

Add flour and salt gradually and mix only until blended. Over handling always makes cookies tough.

Divide dough in three:

Dough one or make all the dough this flavor and stop after step one.

1/3 cup Craisins (dried cranberries) chopped fine

red food coloring preferrably paste type but liquid will do (about 2 or 3 drops}

1 tsp; orange extract

orange peel from one small orange

1/4 cup pistachios (or you can use all the bits and pieces of left over nuts you have accumulated while making cookies which works well if you are making the three doughs)

Blend in the above ingredients and shape dough into a 7 by 6 inch rectangle. Place on plastic wrap and set aside.

Dough two:

1/4 cup pistachios

peel from one lime

1 tsp. Brandy extract

(may tint green or leave plain. If leaving plain color place on bottom of the red. If green place where you wish.)

Mix together and pat into another 7 by 6 inch rectangle. Place one top or bottom of the red dough.

Dough three:

1/4 cup finely chopped almonds

peel from one lemon

1 Tablespoon poppy seeds

1 tsp. lemon extract

Mix ingredients to dough and make another rectangle. Color yellow or leave plain.

I prefer a natural layer, a red layer and a natural layer but the choice is yours.

Place the three layer dough in the refrigerator and chill for 2 hours or overnight. Remove from the refrigerator. Trim. Split the rectangle in half to make it three inches wide. Slice 1/4 inch slices. Place on pan and bake about nine to eleven minutes at 350 degrees. This is a big hit at our house but if you are missing some ingredients for the flavors just make them up. The Pistachios are the main thing and fruit peel.