Fabulous Thumbprint Cookies

These are the thumbprint cookies we grew up on. the icing is festive and delicious complimenting the savory cookie.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream sugar , butter and crisco.

Add egg yolks one at a time until well blended.

Add vanilla , mixing well.

In separate bowl , combine flour and salt.

Add flour to wet ingredients to form a dough that will hold its shape when rolled into a ball.

Roll dough into balls about 1 teaspoons size.

I know this seems small , but once they are rolled in the nuts , they are much larger.

Beat egg whites with water until frothy.

Dip each ball into the egg whites and immediately roll into nuts.

Place 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheet.

Press thumb into center to make a well.

Bake 5 -7 minutes , remove and press thumb into cookie again to hold the well.

Bake an additional 3-5 minutes to brown the bottoms.

When cool , frost with thumbprint cookie icing.

brown sugar, butter, crisco, eggs, water, vanilla, all-purpose flour, nuts, salt