Office Holiday Parties

One of the few drawbacks to working out of the house is that I rarely get to feel the comradery associated with going to an office. Seeing as I am a very social person, this is a definite issue that I have spending so much time isolated in my "home office". I also miss out on the great fun, entertainment and food of an office Christmas party. That's why, this year I took it upon myself to ask everyone who works for my company here in St. Louis to meet a local pizza joint to celebrate the season for a couple of hours. I'll post my thoughts on PW Pizza tomorrow.

I'm excited because I am taking some holiday spritz cookies with me to give as gifts to my fellow isolated coworkers. This is a great holiday treat that was adapted from my wife's mother's recipe. It is a great not to sweet almond flavored cookie that we enjoy throughout the holiday season (I made some for our family as well as the neighborhood families a couple of weeks ago). This is one of many holiday sweets that are a staple this time of year at my household but it is definitely one of the most fun to make and you can involve the entire family by having them help decorate.

Here is the recipe:

Spritz Cookies
1 Stick of Butter
1 Stick of Margerine
1/2 Cup + 1 Tablespoon of Sugar
1 Egg
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1/2 Teaspoon Almond Extract
3/4 Teaspoon of Salt
Food coloring (optional)
2 1/2 Cups of All Purpose Flour
Colored Sprinkles

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Cream the butter, margerine and sugar until the mixture is creamy and pale yellow. Mix in the egg, vanilla extract, almond extract and salt (if you would like your cookies to be colored you would mix in the food coloring now). Gradually stir in the flour about a 1/2 cup at a time. Knead the dough and place in the refridgerator for 5-10 minutes to set. Load the dough into the cookie press and press each cookie onto and ungreased cookie sheet. Decorate with sprinkles. Bake at 400 for 7-8 minutes. Let cool on a rack and enjoy.