ANKHS A LOT
Yes, we made ankh-shaped sugar cookies the other day! A warm-up for the big Christmas Cookie bake-a-thon which is fast approaching. I bought son H an ankh cookie cutter a few months ago when I was at the Brooklyn Museum because he's in an Egyptian phase and their gift shop specializes in all kinds of Egypt chachkas. Finally we found some time to try it out...delicious and festive! I am sure if the ancient Egyptians had thought about it they'd have made ankh cookies too, don't you think? Hey, maybe they did! Here's the recipe.

ANKH COOKIES

Cream together:
1 cup softened butter
2/3 cup sugar

Beat in:
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine, then add:
2 1/2 cups sifted white flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

Mix ingredients till well-blended.
Chill dough 3-4 hours before rolling.
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
Roll and cut. (Sprinkle with colored sugar at this point, if you want.)
Bake 8-10 minutes or until gently colored.
Cool on a rack.
Enjoy!

Makes about two dozen cookies, depending on the sizes you cut.