Christmas Sugar Cookie Recipe

Here is an absolutely delightful sugar cookie recipe that has been passed down from my grandmother, to my mother and now to me. They are the most delicious Christmas cookies I've ever had, incredibly simple to make and yields so many that it is the ideal recipe to follow when making holiday gift baskets for friends and family.

Ingredients:
3 1/2 cup sifted flour
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp baking powder
1 cup shortening or 2 sticks butter
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Directions:
Sift together flour, salt and baking powder. Cream shortening and sugar in a large bowl, then add eggs and vanilla; blend well. Mix dry ingredients in a bit at a time, stirring to mix. Cover and chill for 3 - 4 hours or overnight.

Roll dough to 1/4 inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Cut out cookies with holiday themed cutters and place on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees. For soft cookies, bake 6 - 8 minutes, for crunchy cookies, bake 8 - 10 minutes. Remove cookies from oven and place on cooling rack.

Once cool, cookies can be enjoyed plain for those who don't have an overly active sweet tooth. They can also be iced with standard butter cream frosting, which you can add food dye to for multiple color options when decorating. Finally, your choice of sprinkles, colored sugar or small candies can be added to the fresh frosting, which will make them stick. Helping with the presentation of holiday cookies is always a good way for children or families to have fun.

Yield: 5 dozen.