| 1 | Preparation time: 1 hour 30 minutes chilling time: 1 hour 15 minutes cooking time: 12 minutes per batch |
| 2 | Beat butter in large bowl of electric mixer until light; beat in sugar until fluffy. |
| 3 | Beat in egg, vanilla and salt; beat well. |
| 4 | Stir in flour and nutmeg until well mixed. |
| 5 | Refrigerate dough, covered, 1 hour. |
| 6 | Heat oven to 350 degrees. |
| 7 | Have ungreased baking sheets ready. |
| 8 | Shape dough into 1-inch diameter balls. |
| 9 | Place 2 inches apart on baking sheets. |
| 10 | Press down centers with thumb. |
| 11 | Bake until barely golden, about 12 minutes. |
| 12 | Cool on wire racks. |
| 13 | For filling, beat butter until light. |
| 14 | Beat in confectioners" sugar until fluffy. |
| 15 | Add rum extract to taste. |
| 16 | Beat well. |
| 17 | Fill a pastry bag fitted with a medium star tip with the filling. |
| 18 | Pipe a star into the center of each cookie. |
| 19 | Sprinkle with nutmeg. |
| 20 | Chill until filling firms, 15 minutes. |
| 21 | this is a light and delicate cookie with a rum-flavored filling. |
| 22 | Rebecca gottfred of arlington heights, illinois says her recipe doubles and triples easily and the baked cookies freeze well |