Tray of Cookies

Any day is a cookie day! Therefore, any day you can give the gift of cookies, that is a good day.
The good thing about baking cookies is, it can be done ahead of time. On the other hand, you can could turn the project into a party and invite your guest to mix, roll, and decorate right alongside you.
Going upscale, try these decorated and delicious old-fashioned Bon A. sugar cookies!

3 cups flour
1/2 t salt
2 1/2 sticks butter (room temp)
2/3 cup sugar
21/2 T whole milk
1T grated lemon peel
2 t vanilla extract

2/3 cup apricot or seedless raspberry

Sift flour and salt in bowl
Beat butter and sugar in large bowl until fluffy
Beat in milk, lemon peel and vanilla
Add flour and beat till blended.
Gather dough into ball, divide in half and flatten into disk.
Wrap and chill for at least two hours
Let soften, roll out disk between wax paper to 14x11
refrigerate on baking sheet, still between sheets of wax paper, until firm (30mins)
Place 1 dough piece on work surface.
Peel off top sheet of waxed paper and flip paper putting clean side on dough.
Turn dough over (still bwt paper) Peel off wax paper.
Using 2 1/4 scalloped round cutter
Using a 1-11/4 scalloped round cut out center FROM HALF of cookies.
Gather excess dough and chill. Roll out and make more bottoms and top rings.
Repeat rolling and cutting till all dough is used.
Put rack in center 350 oven Spray 2 sheets with nonstick spray.
Transfer cookie bottoms to one sheet, and top rings to other.
Sprinkle SOME top rings with colored sugar crystals
Bake 8 mins till pale golden. Cool on sheet 5 mins. Tran to rack
Spread 1t of preserve on bottoms. Sift powdered sugar on another 1/4  top rings,
leave rest for hand decorating.