Sugar Cookies With Hannah

Hannah has been bugging me about making her a blog. I told her maybe she could be a guest on my blog. So today we baked and she would like to share our day with you.



I really like making sugar cookies with my mom. It is really messy work. But they are really sweet, and it's GOOD that way. I had lots of fun. Here is what we did. . .(the recipe is just the Better Homes and Gardens Book--the red checkered one--but it is really good if you do it correctly!)

In a mixer, blend 2/3 cup of butter and 2/3 cup of Crisco. You have to beat it until it is creamy. Like two minutes.


Then you add 1 1/2 cups of sugar, 2 teaspoons of baking soda, and a dash of salt. Beat this for another two or three minutes, scraping the sides with a spatula.




Add two eggs and two teaspoons of vanilla. Blend well.




Beat in four cups of flour. If it is too sticky, add a little more.


Roll out dough on a floured surface. Make it a quarter inch thick. We don't want dry crunchy cookies.



Choose your cookie cutters--I picked a flower, a fish, and a butterfly. . .'cause they seemed summery. Cut out shapes.


Place on a cookie sheet. Bake for 8 minutes at 350 degrees. Don't over cook it or they will be dry crunchy cookies. . .which we don't want.


Cool on rack, or on the pan, or on the counter. Whatever, just don't frost them while they are hot--because we don't want soupy cookies either.



While they cool you can hang out and look cute, or clean up, or make frosting. I hang out, then make frosting. I leave the mess for my mom to clean up. This frosting is not in the red and white book. My mom made it up. It goes something like this:



Throw in a large scoop of sour cream (maybe 1/3 cup) and 1/3 of a cream cheese box (8 oz. box)

Add like a bag of powder sugar. Then add 1 teaspoon of almond extract. Trust me, it's good. Mix it up.

It should look like this when you are done. Yum. (You need a lot because it tastes good straight, and we like to pile it on thick.

Divide into bowls and add food coloring. I made pink, blue, yellow, and purple. Purple for the butterflies. Yellow for the flowers. Pink of the hearts (oh, yeah, I did some hearts too) and blue for the fish. And maybe I will mix them up a little. It is more fun that way.

It goes on more smoothly if you use the back of spoon instead of a knife.

And, if you are feeling sassy, add some sprinkles. I LOVE sprinkles, just ask my mom!

If they turn out this pretty you did it just right. Oh yeah, and they taste REALLY good, too.