Sugar Cookies

For years and years, I have used my mom's butter cookie recipes to make cut out cookies. They are delicious, especially fresh out of the oven. Her recipe makes a very tender cookie that is flaky but breaks easily when little hands are trying to frost and decorate. So, this year, I looked for a recipe that made a cookie that was still delicious but held up better when decorated. I found this recipe on Simplyrecipes.com. It may become our new standard for our annual Christmas Cookie Day.

Ingredients

3 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup soft butter
1 egg, lightly beaten
3 Tablespoons half and half or cream
1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

Sift flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into a large mixing bowl.
With a pasty blender, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Add other ingredients and blend with mixer on low speed.
Wrap dough in waxed paper and refrigerate for several hours.

Roll portions of dough on floured surface to about 1/4 inch thickness. Cut out with cookies cutters. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 5 - 8 minutes at 400 degrees.
Place on cooling rack and cool completely before frosting and decorating.