here is nothing more nostalgic than the smell of fresh baked sugar cookies coming from the kitchen. The memory of that first crunchy bite of warm cookie that melted in your mouth and the sweet taste that lingered long after the cookie was gone. Remember that?

"Well, the reason those cookies tasted so good was because they were baked with sugar," states Melanie Miller, spokesperson for the Sugar Association. Sugar is what gives cookies a tender texture, makes the beautiful glistening on top of the cookie, gives cookies that golden brown color, and makes cookies taste sweet long after you consumed that last bite.

"With all these wonderful cooking attributes, and only 15 calories per teaspoon, why experiment with new sugar substitutes in your favorite recipes - stick with all natural sugar for your holiday baking," suggests Ms. Miller.

Enlist your kids and family in helping to make a bit of nostalgia with these great sugar cookies.

   3/4 cup butter or margarine, softened

   3/4 cup white granulated sugar

   2 eggs

   1 teaspoon vanilla extract

   3 cups all-purpose flour

   1 teaspoon baking powder

   Crushed colored hard candies (about 1/3 cup)

Separate colors of hard candy. Put each color of candy in a freezer bag and crush. In a mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla. In another bowl, mix together flour and baking powder. Gradually stir flour mixture into wet ingredients until dough is very stiff. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill about 3 hours.

Preheat oven to 375° F. Roll out dough to 1/8" thickness on a lightly floured surface. Additional flour can be added if necessary. Cut out cookies using large Christmas cookie cutters. Transfer cookies to a foil-lined baking sheet. Using a small Christmas cookie cutter of the same shape as the large one, cut out and remove dough from center of each cookie.* Fill cut out sections with crushed candy. If using cookies as hanging ornaments make holes at top of cookies for string. Bake 7-9 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned and the candy is melted. Slide foil off baking sheets. When cool, carefully loosen cookies from foil. If desired, decorate further with frosting and candy.

* Other shapes can be used to cut out center to make different designs: i.e., small circles and stars can be cut out to mimic ornaments on a large cookie tree.