Thick Soft Christmas Cookies

Today I leave for the good land of Idaho and will not return until late Sunday night. It’s possible that I will do some Christmas cooking while I'm there, but I will not post until I come back. That’s right, Idaho is the good land, but it is also the land of no internet. Rather, my in-laws have no internet. Maybe next year will prove to be a more Christmassy cooking season. I have a grand total of two Christmas posts, this one included.

I am hoping that in the midst of the packing and cleaning flurry I will bake these lovely cookies for the girls to decorate, because what could be better than two 21 month-old kids playing in frosting, sprinkles and cookies? I’m pretty sure I will spend naptime scrubbing the walls and the ceiling.

Well, these are the best sugar cookies I’ve ever tasted. They’re soft and thick and topped with an almond flavored frosting. They are so good! The recipe is from my aunt Jolyn, a lovely lady and an excellent cook.

Thick Soft Christmas Cookies
Printable version of Thick Soft Christmas Cookies
2 cups sugar
1 cup shortening
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
5 cups flour + more to make stiff dough
2 teaspoons vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350. Spray cookie sheets with non-stick spray and set aside.

Mix the sugar and shortening together until the mixture is fluffy. Add the eggs, sour cream, and vanilla. In a separate mixing bowl, sift together baking soda, baking powder, salt and flour. Slowly add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Add enough flour to make a stiff dough that starts to pull away from the sides of the mixing bowl. Roll dough to ¼ inch thickness on a floured surface, and cut with cookie cutters. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until slightly golden on the edges. Let the cookies cool on a wire rack before frosting. I halved the recipe this morning, cut the dough into circles 4 inches in diameter, and that gave me 24 cookies.

Almond Flavored Frosting
2 cups powdered sugar
¼ cup butter, melted
2 tablespoons milk
½ teaspoon almond flavoring
4-5 drops food coloring

Mix all ingredients together. This should make enough frosting to cover 24 cookies.

The one on the left is mine.

She liked the sprinkles more than the cookies.