Sugar Cookies, The Recipe and A Short Memory Piece

Sugar Cookies

I started my Christmas baking yesterday. Saturday I gathered my recipes and made two different kinds on Sunday. Everyone in our family has a favorite. I happen to adore a good sugar cookie and, over the years, I've tried many different recipes. I always come back to my favorite found many decades ago in a Betty Crocker cookbook. What's different in this recipe is the sugar used in the dough is confectioner's (or powdered) instead of granulated sugar and it uses both vanilla and almond flavoring. I think it makes a more tender cookie. You can decorate with sugar, white or colored, or cool and frost. 

Make a batch using a variety of cookie cutters, then make up small plates or boxes of the cookies to give to friends or neighbors. Next--this is where the writing part comes in--write a short memory piece about your cookies including how long you've been making them, where you found the recipe, why they are favorites and any other small bits of information about the cookie or how you make it. You can use any one of your own favorite recipes to do this. 

Wouldn't it be special to take your friends or neighbors a treat that included a short piece of writing to go with it? You might relate how your children use to help, what disasters were created in the kitchen when they were the helpers. Don't forget to include the recipe! Suddenly, you have a gift and a short memoir piece, as well.

I'm going to share my favorite sugar cookie recipe with you. When I looked it up online, I read some of the reviews and they ranged from one star to 5 stars. The majority were 5 stars. Sometimes, I need to make a recipe two or three times to get it just right and maybe those one-star people didn't try a second time.

Mary's Sugar Cookies
Ingredients

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1cup butter or margarine, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 egg
2 1/2 cups Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
Granulated sugar or colored sugar

Steps

1. Mix powdered sugar, butter, vanilla, almond extract and egg in large bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients except granulated sugar. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours.

2.  Heat oven to 375ºF. Lightly grease cookie sheet.

3. Divide dough in half. Roll each half 1/4 inch thick on lightly floured surface. Cut into desired shapes with 2- to 2 1/2-inch cookie cutters. Sprinkle with granulated sugar. Place on cookie sheet.

4. Bake 7 to 8 minutes or until edges are light brown. Remove from cookie sheet. Cool on wire rack.

(Can leave off the sugar and frost when cooled. When I frost them, I roll them out just a bit thicker)