The Magic Cookies Recipe
Last week some folks asked for our sugar cookie recipe and I am happy to share it as it was a generous gift to me and I love to keep good things passed along. This recipe was the gift of Cindy Crawford and Cristyn Moreno- a mother/daughter cooking team with tons of passion for both baking and God. Here is the recipe:
FABULOUS SUGAR COOKIES
Dry Team:
2 1/2 cups flour (1/2 and 1/2 whole wheat flour works well, using ALL whole wheat not so much)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
Wet Team:
3/4 cup shortening (we get the butter flavor sticks from Crisco)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla (we like experimenting with different extracts)
Whisk together the dry team in small bowl and set aside. In a larger bowl combine wet team as follows: shortening and sugar, add in eggs, add in vanilla. Stir after each addition until fully combined. (if you are going to add food coloring this is a good time) Stir in dry team and mix until just combined.
Immediately dump out onto a floured surface (no need to chill) and finish combining the dough adding flour as needed to get to a nice roll out consistency. Continue to roll and cut cookies adding flour as needed to both the surface and the rolling pin. Add sprinkles before cooking or frost after cooled. (with very small children its easier (read less messy) to add the sprinkles right into the dough before you turn it out of the bowl)
Bake for 5 to 6 minutes at 400 degrees. MAX 6 minutes, 5 for the smaller or thinner cookies. Don't even THINK about leaving them in longer :) If they are too delicate to move to a cooling rack, allow to cool on the baking sheet 2-3 minutes before moving them.
Using a silpat (silicone baking liner) on your cookies sheets is the final tip to making these already awesome cookies absolutely fool-proof.
Happy Baking, Tracie & Everett Richeson
