Sunday, 26 November 2006

Animal Cookies

My husband's family call their Christmas sugar cookies "animal cookies", even though the cut out shapes are more likely to be stars, wreaths or candy canes. My sister-in-law makes this large batch every year, and ices them with plain butter icing just before serving. They are a highlight of the Christmas Eve feast.

Mix until fluffy
2 cups white sugar
1 pound shortening

Add
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix together
4 cups of flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon salt

Combine the flour and shortening mixture. Gradually add flour, a cup at at time, until the mixture works like pie pastry (this is an art form!). Total flour used is 6-8 cups.
Roll out dough on a floured surface to a 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into shapes and bake at 375 F for 8-10 minutes until the bottoms of the cookies are a very light brown. Do not overbake!
Makes a lot of cookies.

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