1 c. butter
1/2 c. powdered sugar
2 1/2 c. all purpose flour
1/2 c. chopped nuts
1 tsp. vanilla

Cream butter with sugar. Gradually add flour, nuts and vanilla. Mix thoroughly. Chill.

FILLING:

1/2 c. crushed peppermint candy
1/2 c. powdered sugar
2 tbsp. cream cheese
1 tsp. milk
1 drop red food coloring

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine candy and sugar. Reserve 1/4 of the mixture. Blend cream cheese and milk, and add to the remaining three quarters of the candy mixture. Add food coloring. Mix well.

Remove dough from refrigerator. Shape into balls about 1 inch in diameter. Make a deep hole with your thumb in the center of each ball and fill with about 1/4 teaspoon filling. (If you prefer, a pastry bag can be filled with the filling mixture and used to put the filling in the dough.)

Seal and place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until set but NOT brown.

After removing cookies from oven, roll the cookies in the remaining candy and sugar mixture OR mix 1 cup powdered sugar, 1/4 teaspoon peppermint flavoring and 1 to 2 teaspoons milk until smooth. Then while cookies are warm, frost them and sprinkle them with crushed peppermint candy.