Friday, January 2, 2015

Crisp Sugar Cookies

Today I'm sharing our family recipe for the most delicious thin and crispy sugar cookies!



Before Christmas, I shared my little Christmas Cookie Baking Vignette that sat on my kitchen counter all through the month of December. It was a sweet reminder of our family tradition of baking our favorite rolled out sugar cookies on the afternoon of Christmas Eve.





I've had requests for the recipe, so here's a little recap of our cookie baking adventure, along with the recipe that I'm happy to share!



We have a Corian kitchen counter and roll the cookie dough directly on the well-floured counter top. Ryan is the dough rolling expect. He has a knack for getting it really thin.  





Ryan uses the tiny cookie cutters around the edges to use up every bit of cookie dough. Engineers always have a plan!


The tiny cookies go on a separate tray so that they bake evenly.


This year, we had a new little cookie helper in the kitchen. Uncle Ryan, Clare thought a little extra rolling was in order!


She also thought the dough was fun to play with ...


and to eat, although we snatched it away from her at the last second!


She finally got the hang of the shakers.


And Clare's cookies were very generously sprinkled!



 Everyone took a turn at cookie decorating, but with a baby on the loose, we didn't take quite as much time as usual for intricate decorating!







Clare got to sample her very first cookie, ever!



And in no time at all, we had a big batch of sugar cookies, all ready for Santa!



This recipe was handled down from my mother-in-law. She got it from a friend many years ago. If you like your sugar cookies thin and crispy, then this recipe is for you!

Crisp Sugar Cookies

4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup Crisco shortening
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups flour

Mix the eggs, sugar and shortening until blended. Add the vanilla and the dry ingredients. Chill dough overnight. Roll dough thin on a well-floured surface. Cut and bake at 375 degrees for about 6 minutes or until the edges just begin to brown. 

*It helps to return any extra dough to the refrigerator while you are rolling and cutting to keep it well chilled. And we have never tried this recipe using butter as my mother-in-law says the Crisco is what makes the cookies nice and crispy.






 This is a great cookie recipe to have on hand for any occasion through out the year. We made these paw print cookies with blue and white sprinkles to cheer our favorite team on to victory in their bowl game!








And as much as we love these cookies, it's the memories of baking together that we will cherish forever!

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9 comments:

Our Pinteresting Family said...

These look delicious. Clare looks like she is loving the shakers. :)

My Repurposed Life said...

yep, memories that will last a lifetime! I love all those cookie cutters! :)

pinned, tweeted!

gail

Anonymous said...

I love my sugar cookies crisp. Going to have to try your recipe! The baby looks darling and that is so sweet that you got to make her her very first cookie ever!

marie said...

Thanks so much for sharing this recipe...I love thin, crispy sugar cookies! But you're right, the memories from the baking party are the best part!

Love your cozy vignette too!

Hetty said...

Nice pictures of the family and Thanks for sharing the recipe Sharon, I can't get enough of all those wonderful treats this season!

mary scott said...

I love that these are dairy-free. Look delicious! Thanks for sharing. Happy new year, mary

priscilla said...

Such great family tradition and memories ! Wonderful family photos ! Happy New Year !

Laurel Stephens said...

I'm SO envious of your kitchen help! lol! What a cute little cookie-sprinkling doll you have there. You brought back such good memories for me with this post because your cookies look exactly like the ones I used to make with my own daughters when they were little. They were crispy and delicious and covered with colored sprinkles, too. Thanks for your recipe. I've pinned it for next Christmas.

Unknown said...

I've tried a couple other sugar cookie recipes but I keep coming back to this one. Its absolutely the best! Been making it for years! I don't try others any more.

Gretta Hewson
Spiritual Stories