In the bowl of your mixer cream butter and sugar until smooth.
Beat in vanilla extract and egg.
In a separate bowl combine baking powder with flour and add a little at a time to the wet ingredients. The dough will be rather stiff. If it becomes too stiff for your mixer, turn out the dough onto a countertop surface. Wet your hands and finish off kneading the dough by hand.
Divide into workable batches, roll out onto a floured surface into about ⅛ inch (0.3 cm) thickness.
Cut out bear cookie shapes and place them on a cookie sheet that you've lined with parchment paper. Insert an almond or a raisin on top of each cookie.
Fold the arms into a hugging position (press the arms firmer so they don't open while baking). You can use a wooden skewer to indent eyes and nose for each bear.
Bake at 350 °F (175 °C) for 6-8 minutes. Let cool on the cookie sheet until firm enough to transfer to a cooling rack.
Recipe by Zoom Yummy - Crochet, Food, Photography at https://zoomyummy.com/2014/11/20/huggy-bear-cookies/