This recipe was TERRIFIC!! It was easy to handle and the cutouts puffed out nicely. I made a two batches not truly trusting that this recipe would make 72 cookies for a cookie exchange. To my amazement it made 75. My only changes to the recipe is I used real butter instead of lard. The baked cookies were a perfect combination of outer firmness and melt in your mouth softness. When decorating the second batch, I used a scalloped circle cutter and dipped half in melted chocolate and sprinkled chopped walnuts on the chocolate. Very elegant looking and easy to make. I received rave reviews from choir members and co-workers where the cookies was shared.