Rosebud Cookies

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup solid vegetable shortening
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons rose water (optional)
• red and green food coloring
• Vanilla frosting

Instructions:

Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl: Flour, salt, and baking powder. Set the bowl aside and put together the sugar, shortening, eggs, and rose water in another bowl. Attack it with an electric beater set on medium and mix it all together until it is fluffy. Stir in the flour mix to make a soft dough. Work red food coloring into the dough until it achieves a uniform color, then wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for several hours, preferably overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350º F. Grease 2 baking sheets. Start forming little balls with the dough; they should be about 3/4 of an inch across. Put them 2 inches apart on the sheets you prepared and then press each dough ball down into a dough circle with the palm of your hand or the bottom of a glass. Dip a paring knife in flour and make two slits at the tops of each flattened round, diagonally angling toward the center to make them appear to be rosebuds (see picture). Then gently pinch the bottoms of the "buds" so that the base is formed and the cuts spread just a tad. The cookies should bake for 7-10 minutes but DO NOT let them brown. Transfer them to a rack as soon as they are out of the oven so that they do not continue to cook on the sheets. Finally, tint your frosting green and put it in a pastry bag fitted with a leaf tip. Pipe onto the bottoms of the cookies so they look like leaves. Great Valentine's Day treat!

NOTE: You can also make yellow roses if you desire. Use your imagination!