Christmas Bar Cookies

As a kid growing up, we had these every year at Christmas time. Now as a dad, it's time to pass these on to the next generation.

Your kids will love these. So will you!

These are basically sugar cookies, so the recipe and ingredients are simple:

• 1 cup of butter
• 1 1/4 cups of sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups of flour
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• 1 1/4 teaspoons of baking powder
• green and red food coloring

First, let the butter soften. Then, cream it until it is slightly fluffy. Add the sugar and mix well. Add the egg and vanilla extract; mix well. Finally, add the flour, salt and baking powder. Guess what? Mix well.

Separate your dough into two more or less equal parts. Add your red and green food coloring to each part until the colors are to your liking.

Now take a 9x5 baking pan and line it with wax paper. Add one of your two halves of dough. Get it nice and flat, and then add the second color on top. Cover your dough with wax paper and put the pan into the refrigerator. My mom says to let it chill for 24 hours. Maybe overnight would be sufficient? I don't know; you tell me. When my mom says 24 hours, I do 24 hours.

Take your dough out of the refrigerator, where it has been sitting for 24 hours and no less! :) Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 350° (175° C).

Remove your dough from the pan and place it onto a cutting board. Cut the dough in half long-ways, and then cut 1/4" slices off of the two rectangles of dough. Place the slices 1" apart onto a baking sheet, and bake your cookies at 350° for about 10 minutes.

Serve them and eat them! Or give some as gifts, if you're one of those kind unselfish people. Happy Holidays!