Elf Cookies – Nissehoveder

Put the flour into a mixing bowl. Crumble the butter into the flour, then cut it with a pastry cutter or two butter knives until it looks like breadcrumbs. Add the sifted confectioners’ sugar and the egg yolk and mix until it’s all combined.

Form dough into a rod with a 1-inch diameter. Press the tube of dough between your hands to form a pointed top (this makes the elf hat; see photo). Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Cut the green cherries into small cubes, these will be the eyes. Cut the red cherries into quarters and slice the quarters thinly crosswise, these will be the mouths.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Remove the log of dough from the fridge and unwrap it. Cut the log into ¼-inch thick cookies and put them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Space them about 1 inch apart. Place eyes and mouths on the cookies (the pointed end will be a hat so put the face below that).

Bake until slightly golden around the edges, about 10-12 minutes at 350°F. Cool cookies on the pan while set on wire racks.

Mix confectioners’ sugar with a few drops of water and food coloring. Paint the cookies with the red icing, with the icing as the cap. Let the cookies dry on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.