Nutmeg Bites
from MaryJane Robbins, https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/

Little domes of holiday cheer, these two-bite cookies are perfect for your cookie swap or cookie tray. The rum icing and dusting of nutmeg sets these cookies in the "grown-ups" category, but rum flavoring may be used if the little ones will be sharing too. MaryJane Robbins has been making these for the holidays since she was a teen. The notes in parentheses come from the blog associated with the recipe.

Nutmeg cookie dough
3 cups (361g) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
16 tablespoons (227g) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup (149g) sugar
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla

Rum icing
1 1/2 cups (170g) confectioners' sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, softened
2 to 3 tablespoons (28g to 43g) rum

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

In the bowl of your mixer, combine all ingredients and blend on medium speed until a soft, smooth dough forms, about 2 minutes. (The dough will be soft and smooth and moist, but not really sticky. You can pick it up and roll a ball and it won't stick to your fingers.)

Wrap and chill the dough for 1 hour. Towards the end of the chill time, preheat the oven to 350°F.

Drop 1-tablespoon sized dough balls onto your baking sheet. A heaped teaspoon cookie scoop makes this job a snap. (While you could make them larger, part of the beauty of these cookies is their small delicate shape. You just feel a little fancier when you eat little bites IMO.)

Bake the cookies for 8 to 10 minutes. The edges will be slightly browned and the cookies will be round and domed.

Cool the cookies completely. Prepare the icing by blending the softened butter and confectioners' sugar. Add rum one tablespoon at a time until you have a spreadable icing. (It should be thin enough to spread, but thick enough not to run. If you cannot have alcohol, you can use cream instead of liquid rum, and add 1/8 teaspoon rum flavoring or extract. Do try to keep the rummy-ness in the icing though, it really makes a difference in the final flavor of the cookie.)

Top each cookie with a dollop of icing and a dash of nutmeg. (A microplane grater works great for adding the nutmeg.)