Saturday, November 27, 2010

'Tis The Season! Sugar Cookies!

Courtesy of Nan of Retired in Alaska

HURRAY The Christmas Season has STARTED!

It's the official start of the Christmas season now that Thanksgiving is over.  You will noticed I've changed my template to reflect Christmas too.  

Yesterday I mixed up the cookie dough for our Sugar Cookies.  Today I will bake them and tomorrow I will frost them.    This is a family recipe from my MIL.  It was her mother's recipe.  It makes 11 - 12 dozen cookies.  The recipe can be halved.  

Here's some highlights from yesterday.

The ingredients
I like to measure everything out before I start mixing.  The recipe calls for six to eight cups of four.  I put six cups in one large bowl and the remaining two cups in a small bowl.   I found out if I measured and added the flour as I was mixing I would lose count of the cups.  Now I know I have added the first six cups and then I add as much of the last two cups as it will take.   

Start with the sugar and shortening
Creaming the sugar and shortening.  Eggs will be mixed in next.
Adding the eggs one at a time
Salt, nutmeg, baking powder and baking soda mixed in small red bowl.
Adding salt, nutmeg, baking power and baking soda.
Alternating the milk and flour mixture.
All mixed up.

TEACUP LANE'S SUGAR COOKIES
  • 3 cups sugar
  • 2 cups shortening (I use Crisco)
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 tsp nutmeg
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 tsps baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 cup sour milk (to sour milk add 1 tsp vinegar to regular milk)  I use low fat milk.
  • 6 to 8 cups flour
Cream sugar and shortening.  Add other ingredients (eggs one at a time), then nutmeg, salt, baking powder and baking soda.  Last thing is to alternate adding flour and milk.  I usually can add all of the flour into the mixture.  It thickens up so a good mixer is necessary.  My old Sunbeam mixer started to smoke when mixing the cookie dough several years ago so I bought a KitchenAid mixer and love it.

I put the cookie dough in the refrigerator over night to chill the dough.   Roll out with your favorite cookie cutters and bake in a pre-heated oven at 375 degrees for about 8 to 10 minutes.  It makes about 11 to 12 dozen depending on the size of your cookies.  As I mentioned the recipe can be halved.  

Last Christmas my BIL gave me the ultimate compliment telling me that my cookies were as good as his Mom's.  I was so pleased!  Hubby and his twin brothers especially like lots of frosting on their cookies.   

Today I will be busy rolling out the cookie dough and baking the cookies.  I'll take more photos of rolling out the dough and frosting to share with you too.  Tomorrow Hubby will help me frost them.  The only other cookies I make are chocolate chip which I will bake later in the week.   These freeze well too.  I freeze them until Christmas.  I take three large cookies tins back home for our brothers and their families at Christmas.  

Let me know if you try our family recipe.  These are delicious!

These are from last Christmas 2009!

Update:  Second part of Sugar Cookies (baking and frosting) posted (here)!

9 comments:

  1. These cookies look wonderful. I have a recipe too my Mom and sister both used that I make it's from the Betty Crocker Cook Book, Ethel's sugar cookies. I like to make just green trees frosted and decorated with sprinkles. This year I can't eat them lol.

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  2. Thanks for this recipe, Sandy! I'll be waiting for the icing recipe and give them a whirl this year. Yours were really pretty last year!

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  3. Dear Sandy
    These biscuits look lovely for Christmas time and thank you for giving us your recipe!
    I've just bought some new Christmas biscuit cutters so I'm all set!!
    hugs
    Shane

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  4. They look delicious!!! I love the decoration.
    Thank you so much for visiting me!
    I like the way you keep your recipes! I use a notebook, but I think I will take yours!!
    See you Rosana

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  5. Now I'm completely in the mood for my holiday baking. We love sugar cookies and will have to give your family recipe a go. Thanks for sharing, Sandy!

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  6. Thanks for sharing the recipe, they look so yummy!

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  7. WOW! Those cookies look amazing. I don't have the skill or patience to make pretty cookies like that but I do make quite a few closer to Christmas.

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