Sugar Cookie Recipes for the Holidays

When the weather starts turning cooler, our bodies start screaming for more calories. I'm not sure if this is part of human genetics or if it's because as children we were programmed and tuned in to Halloween. Halloween=candy. Candy=calories. If it's human genetics it would go back to when we were all hunter/gatherers and needed the extra calories to live through the winters. Like fattening up cattle for cold weather, humans did the same thing.

One of the best ways to turn frowns upside down is to make cookies. Sugar cookies are nice because they are full of butter and sugar--two basic food groups. Sugar is derived from sugar cane (a vegetable) or sugar beets (a vegetable) and, of course, butter is a pure dairy product. So it just goes without saying that sugar cookies are good for you. Right?

I'm starting with one of my oldest recipes.

Sugar Cookies: Ingredients--1 1/2 cups sugar, half brown; 1 cup butter; 2 eggs, beaten; 2/3 cup buttermilk; 1 tsp baking soda; dash of nutmeg; flour; hickory nuts, chopped. Directions: Cream the butter and sugar and stir in the buttermilk, soda and nutmeg. Stir in enough flour to make a soft dough. Roll the dough out thinly on a lightly floured board and cut into rounds. Place the rounds on an oiled baking sheet, sprinkle them with granulated sugar and chopped hickory nuts and bake in a moderate (350 degrees) oven for about 12 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Icebox Sugar Cookies: Ingredients--2 eggs; 1 cup white sugar; 1 cup brown sugar; 1 tsp vanilla; 1/2 tsp salt; 1 cup melted butter; 1 tsp baking soda (dissolved in warm water); 1 cup walnuts; 4 cups flour. Directions: Put together in usual manner. Pack in rolls. Chill thoroughly. Slice thin and bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes. (Yup, those are the directions).

Molasses Sugar Cookies: Ingredients--3/4 cup shortening; 1 cup sugar; 1/4 cup molasses; 1 egg; 2 tsp baking soda; 2 cups sifted flour; 1/4 tsp cloves; 1/4 tsp ginger; 1 tsp cinnamon; 1/2 tsp salt. Directions: Melt shortening, let cool. Add sugar, molasses and egg. Sift flour, soda, cloves, ginger and cinnamon. Mix well. Chill dough, form in 1 inch balls, roll in sugar. Place on greased cookie sheet, bake at 350 degrees for 10 - 12 minutes.

Stir-n-Drop Sugar Cookies: Ingredients--2 eggs; 2/3 cup vegetable oil; 2 tsp vanilla; 1 tsp grated lemon rind; 3/4 cup sugar; 2 cups flour; 2 tsp baking powder; 1/2 tsp salt. Directions: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Beat eggs with fork until well blended. Stir in oil, vanilla and rind in large bowl. Blend in sugar. Mix flour, baking powder and salt in small bowl and add to oil mixture. Drop by spoonfulls 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheet. Flatten with glass dipped in sugar. Bake 8 - 10 minutes. Remove immediately from baking sheet.

Crisp Sugar Cookies: Ingredients--1/2 cup shortening; 1 cup sugar; 1 egg; 2 cups sifted flour; 1 tsp baking powder; 1/2 tsp salt; 1/4 cup milk; 1/2 tsp lemon extract. Directions: Blend shortening, sugar and egg. Add remaining ingredients. Chill dough. Roll, cut and sprinkle with colored sugar. Bake at 400 degrees.

Sugar Cookies: Ingredients--1 cup white sugar; 1 cup brown sugar; 3 eggs; 2 tsp baking soda; 2 tsp cream of tartar; 1 cup vegetable oil; 1/4 tsp salt; 4 cups flour; 1 tsp vanilla. Directions: Mix sugar, eggs, oil, salt and vanilla. Mix soda, cream of tartar and flour. Mix all together. Chill 2 hours. Make balls the size of walnuts and press flat. Bake 8 - 10 minutes at 350 degrees.

Brown Sugar Cookies: Ingredients--3 eggs; 1 cup cold coffee; 2 cups cooked raisins; 3 cups flour; 1 tsp maple flavoring; 1 tsp baking soda; 1 tsp baking powder; 1 tsp nutmeg; 1 tsp cinnamon. Directions: Bake at 375 degrees for 12 minutes. (Another "just the basics" instructions recipe).

Cookie Hints from www.foodreference.com: Form into 'logs' so you can thaw the amount you need easily.

You can cut with a sharp knife and use the frozen dough without thawing. Just be sure to adjust baking time.

Be sure to wrap cookies with plastic wrap and then put in a freezer bag so the dough doesn't pick up any freezer odors.