Petit Fours (Egypt)

They're so addicting :)

This recipe is one of my absolute favourite cookie dishes. It is a butter cookie and the recipe originates from Egypt, and my family and I enjoy it during the Islamic holiday of Ramadhan. It is an absolute delight, and your kids and family will be absolutely sure to love it [Especially with the shapes ;)]!The name means "small ovens" in French... it is not an Arabic term, but only because of the French colonization of Egypt.  There's a little history lesson for yah! The recipe and procedures follow below:

What you'll need-
1 cup soft butter
3/4 cup icing sugar
1/4 teaspoon of vanilla
3 eggs
2 1/2 cup of flour
1/2teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of cocoa powder for color (optional... I prefer not to use it just because the cookie is great without it too!)

Steps-
1. Preheat oven at 325 degree Fahrenheit
2.With an electric mixture, mix the butter until it changes its color from yellow to almost white. Then add the icing sugar, egg and the vanilla. Mix this very well until creamy.
3. Mix the flour, baking powder together then add it slowly to the butter mixture. This mixture should turn into a ball
4.Place this dough into a bowl and let rest in the refrigerator
5.Cut the dough into 2 pieces. Knead one part of the dough with the cocoa powder and leave the other part without.(if you're using cocoa powder)
6.You may place both the cocoa dough and the original dough on top of each other and make cut outs with a cookie cutter or you may leave each part alone and use the cookie cutter to form the wanted shapes.
7.You then bake them at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes
8.Let cool and ENJOY!!!