Want to make some cute and delicious cookies for the Holidays? Then try your hand at these adorable Bear Hugging Cookies. They are incredibly easy to make and guaranteed to be a huge hit with your party-goers AND Santa !

I saw a picture of these adorable cookies in a magazine many years ago but the article didn't include the recipe or where to buy this unique bear hugging cookie cutter. The article was strictly about decorating for the Holidays and not for the plate of adorable bear hugging cookies that were displayed on the beautifully decorated table.

Since I couldn't find the original recipe, I decided to tweak my own cut-out cookie recipe (step 1) and they came out great. I tried using the bear cookie cutter that I had in my arsenal of cutters but the arms were too short and the dough would not warp around the almond. It took me a while but I finally found the correct bear-hugging cookie cutter (step 2).

Step 1: Recipe and Instructions

Preheat oven at 325°

3/4 cup butter softened

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups flour

A pinch baking soda

Cream butter and sugars in a large bowl until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla, beating until smooth. In another bowl, sift together flour and baking soda. Stir flour mixture into cream mixture, mixing until a soft dough ball forms. Cover and chill for 1 hour.

On a lightly floured surface, use a floured rolling pin to roll out dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut out cookies and place on an un-greased baking sheet.

Place an almond on each bear and fold his arms up and around the almond.

Poke in a couple of eyes and a nose with a small rounded tool. I used the blunt end of a bamboo skewer.

Use leftover dough to make little round tails

Bake for approximately 8 - 10 minutes

Step 2: Where to Find Bear Hugging Cookie Cutters

I ordered my first bear cutter from a foreign supplier (sorry, can't remember the supplier name) but it took forever (about a month) to receive it here in the US. It was called (3PCS Cute Fondant Cake Gum Teddy Bear Cookie Biscuit Cutter Plungers Tools Mould 11-342). It came in a set of three sizes and I used the 2" sized cutter

Later I found a Huggy Bear Cutter from . . . Cheapcookiecutters.com for $3.99