Tasty Thursday: Auntie's Sugar Cookies

I am sharing this again because I am making these again for my kids for Valentine's Day. They are my very favorite Sugar Cookie (although Otis Spunkmeyer's Butter Sugar Cookies are a close second). This recipe is halved from the original (shared here) and I added vanilla and butter.

Here is a recipe card you can download.

 Amy’s Auntie’s Sugar Cookies – Famous Mormon Recipes - Adapted by Amy W

3 1/2 cups flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sugar

1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup butter (room temp.)
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs beaten
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
    Sift flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut in shortening and butter. Stir in sugar.
In a separate bowl, mix milk, eggs and vanilla. Stir egg mixture into flour mixture. (If dough is too dry, add milk 1 TBSP at a time.)
    Roll dough onto floured surface and cut out shapes (1/4” thick dough works best). Place on un-greased cookie sheet (or line a cookie sheet with parchment paper) and sprinkle with sugar, (omit this step if decorating with frosting). Bake 10 minutes or until edges are golden brown.
 *These bake up soft and light at 1/4" thick.
The thinner you roll them, the crispier they will be.


I use the Wilton's Buttercream Frosting Recipe when I frost these cookies.

 

Happy Valentine's Day!

Yesterday was littlest miss's Valentine party at playgroup. She didn't have anything festive to wear, so I grabbed a shirt that she wears under tank dresses, because it has a stain and is almost too small. I traced a heart onto Pellon with a cookie cutter that I conveniently had left out, ironed it to some fabric and slapped in on the shirt. My machine was already set up for FMQ so I just scribbled some stitching around it to secure it.
 (Side note: turns out yesterday I had been FMQ-ing with the feed dogs up! No wonder it was so hard to maneuver!)

She loved it it took about 10 minutes or less and now I can pass the shirt on, since the stain is more or less hidden by the heart. (I thought I had it all covered, but nope. Not quite. :) . Oh well.)

Hope your Valentine's Day is Wonderful!

PS

My 3 year old made her own Valentines with a little cutting and folding help from me.
She did great stamping, gluing, and assembling them. They have a little candy watch or bracelet inside.

 

Tasty Tuesday: Sugar Cookies Revisited

Tomorrow is the playgroup Valentine Party, for which I am responsible for providing cookies for the kids to decorate. In initially we only had 6 kids coming, so I started out making them a giant heart to decorate. But then I got another RSVP so I had to abort that and switch to regular sized cookies, because there weren't going to be enough to go around. I had already used 10 and a half cups of flour. My kids will get the ginormous ones. :) I am sure they will appreciate that.

To make the huge hearts, I used the heart shape from my spring-form pan that I never use because I don't know how. :) It is about 8 inches tall and 7.5 inches wide at the widest part. What kid would not love a cookie that big!

 I used my go-to sugar cookie recipe, Aunties Sugar Cookies, but I changed it up a little bit. I replaced half the shortening with butter, and added some vanilla for a little flavor. Don't get me wrong, I love these cookies as I usually make them but they don't stand alone well. They need the frosting. :) But now, I can totally munch on one with nothing on it. Just a little sweet, and ever so slightly buttery. YUM!
The dough turns out a little wetter and not as stiff, but I was still able to work with it just fine to roll them out. You can always add a little flour if you like. And as you can see in the photos, I used parchment paper on my cookie sheets.
I had to roll out the big ones directly on the floured parchment, cut them out, and then lift the parchment onto the cookie sheet. It worked beautifully. The big cookies baked about 7 minutes longer than the regular ones.


And 'cause I love you, here is the new and (I think) improved Auntie's Sugar Cookies recipe. (This is half of the original recipe.)

Auntie’s Sugar Cookies – Famous Mormon Recipes - Adapted by Amy W

3 1/2 cups flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
½ cup shortening
½ cup butter (room temp.)
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs beaten
1 ½ tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
    Sift flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut in shortening and butter. Stir in sugar. In a separate bowl, mix milk, eggs and vanilla. Stir egg mixture into flour mixture. (If dough is too dry, add milk 1 TBSP at a time.)
    Roll dough onto floured surface and cut out shapes (1/4” thick dough works best). Place on un-greased cookie sheet and sprinkle with sugar, (omit this step if decorating with frosting). Bake 10 minutes or until edges are golden brown.
 *These bake up soft and light at 1/4". The thinner you roll them, the crispier they will be.

Happy Valentines Day!