If you saw my post on Instagram yesterday, you read my long list of to-dos. Of course, only about half were completed. Two of those items finished were to bake & decorate cookies! Of course both kinds had to be refrigerated and then cut out. Typically, I enjoy baking & decorating but I injured my back a few days ago and standing for hours on end wasn't too friendly. I'm going to share both of the recipes with you. Each one have been passed down from my grandmothers.
The first is a simple sugar cookie. This one is my mom's mothers.
2/3 cup oil
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 egg
4 tablespoons milk
2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt.
Mix all ingredients by hand. Put in refrigerator to stiffen. Roll out.
Bake 375* for 6-8 minutes
This one is from my great-grandmother Maggie Myers. I just found out it is a German recipe, which is odd because I don't have a German heritage! I'm thinking it must have been shared by a neighbor when Maggie and her husband moved to Michigan to find work. My grandmother just called them Christmas Cookies:
2 3/4 cups sifted flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon allspice
1/2 cup chopped fruit (like what you use in fruitcake)
1/2 cup chopped nuts (we've always used black walnuts)
1 cup sorghum
3/4 cup of brown or white sugar
1 egg
Sift the dry ingredients. Toss the chopped fruit and nuts with the dry ingredients in
a large bowl. Heat the sorghum until it is thin then stir in the sugar. After the sugary
mixture has cooled add in the egg. Gradually pour the mixture into the large bowl
mix by hand. Roll the dough out and cut with cookie cutters. Bake at 350* for ten minutes.