2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cream of tartar
1 c. butter at room temp.
1 1/2 c. confectioners' sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. almond extract or lemon extract (your preference)

Sift together the flour, soda and cream of tartar and set aside. Cream the butter, sugar, egg and flavoring together thoroughly. Stir in the flour, mixing well. Dough will be very soft. Cover and refrigerate 4 or 5 hours or overnight.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Working with one-half the dough at a time, roll on floured surface to a thickness of 1/4 to 5/16 inch with a lightly floured rolling pin and cut with lightly floured cutters. Using a spatula, transfer the cookies to a lightly greased or parchment lined baking sheet.

To decorate the cookies before baking, use the recipe for Egg Yolk Paint before putting the cookies in the oven. Of, if you prefer, bake and cool the cookies and then decorate.

Bake 7 to 9 minutes or until edges brown very slightly. Cool for a minute on the baking sheet before transferring, with a spatula, to a wire rack to cool completely before storing or decorating.

EGG YOLK PAINT:

1 egg yolk
1/4 tsp. water
Food coloring

Whisk together the egg yolk and water and divide into several small containers (a cupcake pan is ideal for this). Add a few drops of food coloring to each container until the color is as bright as you want. Using a clean small artist's brush, paint the cookies with designs of your choice before baking.