Irish Flag Cookies

1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 In a large bowl, cream together butter and confectioners' sugar. Beat in egg and vanilla extract. Mix well.

2 In a medium sized bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda and cream of tartar. Blend into the butter mixture. Divide dough into thirds and shape into balls.

3 Working with 1/3 of the dough at a time, roll out dough to 1/4 inch thick on a floured surface. With a knife, cut dough into rectangles about 2 inches high by 3 inches long. (6 x 8 cm).

4 Place rectangles on an ungreased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart. Bake in a preheated 350 degree F (175 degrees C) oven until lightly browned. Cool completely on wire rack. Frost cookies with Irish Flag Frosting. Make a 1 inch green stripe on the the left side of the rectangles and a 1 inch orange strip on the right side, leaving the middle one inch unfrosted. Makes 18 servings

Irish Flag Frosting
1 cup sifted confectioners' sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon water
2 drops orange food coloring
2 drops green food coloring

1 Blend confectioners' sugar, salt and vanilla. Add just enough water to make frosting easy to spread.

2 Divide frosting into 2 small bowls. Add 2 drops of orange food coloring to one bowl and 2 drops of green food coloring to the other bowl. Mix each until the colors are even.

3 Frost 1 inch of the left side of each Irish Flag Cookie with the green frosting and 1 inch of the right side of the cookies with the orange frosting, leaving the middle inch unfrosted. Makes 18 servings