Submitted by Carolyn Charz

Makes about 3 to 4 dozen chocolate cookies, depending on the size of each amount dropped.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup shortening
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups flour, sifted before measuring
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsweetend cocoa
6 ounce bag chocolate chips
1 teaspoon Crisco
1 jar green maraschino cherries
1 jar red maraschino cherries

Baking Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Cream shortening, butter and sugar.  Beat in egg.  Stir in vanilla and buttermilk.  In another bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa.  Slowly add the flour mixture into shorten batter.  Chill for an hour.  Drop by teaspoonfuls onto lightly greased baking sheets about 2 inches apart.  Bake for 8-12 minutes, or until no imprint remains when lightly touched with finger.  Allow to cool.

Melt chocolate chips.  Add crisco and stir to melt.  Dip tops of cookies into chocolate frost.  Cut red cherries in half and green cherries in quarters.  In the center of each cookie place one half red cherry.  On each side of the red cherry place a 1/4 of a green cherry.  This will look like a red flower (poinsettia) with two green leaves.