Anyway, lately I've been trying to do things to work off this nervous energy and distract myself from how uncomfortable and anxious I am. Last night's activity was baking and decorating Christmas cookies. Now, many people may disagree with me, but I really dislike crunchy sugar cookies. Call me crazy, but I simply believe it's impolite to slap frosting on a wafer of cardboard and call it a treat. And to this point, every single recipe I've tried has left me disappointed. So this time, after some research and brainstorming, I concocted my own recipe. And surprise, surprise, IT WORKED!!
Honestly, Landon gets the prize for the most impressive frosting job of the night. He even consulted a world map to make sure it looked just right. My husband, the over-achiever.
You can't tell from the pictures, but these cookies are firm enough to hold as much frosting as you want to gob on them, but soft enough so they don't crunch when you bite them. I feel like a culinary genius. Here's the recipe, if you care.
Finally a Soft Sugar Cookie
1 c. sugar
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 c. shortening
1 egg yolk
2 tsp vanilla
1/4 c. sour cream
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
2 1/2 c flour
Cream together the sugar and shortening. Add egg yolk, vanilla, sour cream, salt, and baking powder. Stir until well-blended. Add the flour and stir until you get a dough that won't stick to your fingers when you poke it.
Smush the dough into a round disc on a plate and cover with plastic wrap. Place in the freezer for about 1 hour. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
When you take the dough out of the freezer take out only enough for the first sheet worth of cookies and place the rest in the fridge until you are ready to use it. This dough is just a little sticky and difficult to handle, so before you roll it out, get a large piece of wax paper and lightly coat it with flour. Roll the dough out on the wax paper to about 1/4 in. or a little thicker. Cut out your desired shapes and remove the excess dough from around the edges. When you're ready to transfer the dough shapes to the cookie sheet, lift the entire sheet of wax paper and flip it onto the pan. This eliminates the need to pry sticky dough off the counter.
Bake at 300 degrees for 8 minutes. (Our oven is really finicky, plus we are at a high altitude, so you might want a slightly higher temp or a couple more minutes cooking time) The cookies will be slightly underdone when you take them out and should finish cooking on the pan for 2-3 minutes or so before being transferred to cooling racks.
1 c. sugar
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 c. shortening
1 egg yolk
2 tsp vanilla
1/4 c. sour cream
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
2 1/2 c flour
Cream together the sugar and shortening. Add egg yolk, vanilla, sour cream, salt, and baking powder. Stir until well-blended. Add the flour and stir until you get a dough that won't stick to your fingers when you poke it.
Smush the dough into a round disc on a plate and cover with plastic wrap. Place in the freezer for about 1 hour. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
When you take the dough out of the freezer take out only enough for the first sheet worth of cookies and place the rest in the fridge until you are ready to use it. This dough is just a little sticky and difficult to handle, so before you roll it out, get a large piece of wax paper and lightly coat it with flour. Roll the dough out on the wax paper to about 1/4 in. or a little thicker. Cut out your desired shapes and remove the excess dough from around the edges. When you're ready to transfer the dough shapes to the cookie sheet, lift the entire sheet of wax paper and flip it onto the pan. This eliminates the need to pry sticky dough off the counter.
Bake at 300 degrees for 8 minutes. (Our oven is really finicky, plus we are at a high altitude, so you might want a slightly higher temp or a couple more minutes cooking time) The cookies will be slightly underdone when you take them out and should finish cooking on the pan for 2-3 minutes or so before being transferred to cooling racks.
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