Vampire Cookies

I know that the Cullen's don't have fangs ;) but I took these to a Twilight party anyways. They are actually kind of labor intensive, the dough is your typical sugar cookie recipe and hard to work with (for me, at least), and my recipe only made like 14 cookies. I would definitely double it. Or use your own sugar cookie recipe. But really, it is a novel idea, huh? I got this from Baking Bites.

3/4 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1 large egg

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/8 tsp almond extract

1 1/2 cups flour

1/4 tsp salt

approx 1/2 cup red jam

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in egg and extracts. Add flour and salt to the bowl and mix them into the butter-sugar mixture at low speed until the dough is just combined. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour.

Preheat oven to 325.

Divide dough in half and keep the other portion in the fridge.

Roll out dough onto floured surface until 1/8 inch thick. Use a cookie cutter to cut 2 inch rounds.

Place rounds on baking sheet, put a tsp of jam on each of them and cover with another round of dough. Press edges down lightly clinching the edges down on the cookie sheet. Use a toothpick and poke two small holes, like a vampire bite, into the top of each cookie.

Bake for 10-12 minutes until cookies are set.

Cool for 5 minutes on the sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Dip a toothpick in some extra jam and re-insert in the "bite" holes you made before baking to emphasize them, if not already red. Draw a blood trickle down from one of the bites with the jam.

Cookies are best the day they are made.

Makes 2 dozen.