Soften butter and mix with sugar until creamy. Add almond extract to
butter and sugar mixture. Combine well. In separate bowl, mix flour and salt. Combine the
contents of the two bowls and mix thoroughly. Chill dough for at least one hour.
Preheat oven to 325°. Form chilled dough into 1" balls. Place the
balls of dough on a cool, ungreased cookie sheet. Use a basket design cookie stamp to
press a design into the cookie. Lightly oil the stamp before the first use. Wipe out any
excess oil with a paper towel. Dip the stamp in flour, shaking off any excess before
stamping each cookie.
Bake at 325° 12 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Watch the cookies
carefully as they bake so they do not burn. Use a spatula to remove the cookies to a
cooling rack. If you plan to hang the cookies as ornaments, pierce a small hole in the top
of the cookie immediately after removing from the oven. Cool thoroughly before moving off
the rack. Once cool, arrange them on a plate or in a basket lined with a holiday patterned
cloth basket liner. Tuck a few cookies in a small basket to
give as a gift or hang them on your Christmas tree.
