Poinsettia Blossom Cookies  | 
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                                            Prep Time: 45 Minutes Cook Time: 8 Minutes  | 
                                            Ready In: 53 Minutes Servings: 6  | 
                                         
                                        
                                     
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                    I combined a couple of recipes to come up with this one after being inspired by cookies I saw on the cover of a magazine. The dough tends to be a bit sticky, so make sure your knife is sharp when cutting the petals; you may need to spray it with non-stick cooking spray as well. We like these cookies made with black cherry or cherry Jell-O. The additional food coloring makes the color a bit more vivid. Use red paste food coloring for a really bright presentation. These cookies would also be cute for Easter, by using lemon, lime or orange-flavored Jell-O. Ingredients: 
                    
                        
                                                3/4 cup butter, softened  |  
                                                1/2 cup sugar  |  
                                                1 (3 ounce) package red jell-o, dry  |  
                                                2 eggs  |  
                                                1 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1 teaspoon almond extract  |  
                                                1 teaspoon baking powder  |  
                                                1 teaspoon salt  |  
                                                1 teaspoon red food coloring (optional)  |  
                                                2 1/2 cups flour  |  
                                                red sugar crystals  |  
                                                36 miniature m&m's chocolate candies (yellow)  |  
                                                1/2 cup frosting, if using  |  
                                                
                     
                    Directions: 
                    
                        
                            
                                1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 2. In bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, dry Jell-O powder, eggs and extract. Add baking powder, salt, and food coloring. Add flour and mix well. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate about 2 hours or until dough is firm. Shape dough into 1 1/4-inch balls and roll in red-colored sugar. Place balls about 2 inches apart on greased baking sheets. Using a sharp knife, make cuts in top of each ball, not quite all the way through, to make 6 pie-shaped wedges. Spread wedges apart very slightly to form flower petals; cookies will separate and flatten as they bake. Bake 8-10 minutes or until set. If using candies, immediately press one candy in center of each cookie. Let cookies cool on baking sheet a minute and then remove to wire rack to cool completely. If not using candies, pipe a dab of prepared cake frosting in center of each cookie when they are completely cooled.                              | 
                         
                         
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