The Dreamiest Sugar Cookies

Valentine's Day is now long gone. But that doesn't mean you can't still whip up some delicious heart-shaped cookies. If you feel too weird about it, just find a cookie cutter in the shape of something to celebrate the next holiday. Four-leaf clover cookies? Bunny cookies? Sky is the limit, really.

The majority of sugar cookies do not really get my taste-buds going. And that's because the majority of sugar cookies have the consistency all wrong. They are either crumbling apart onto my lap, or so hard I fear I will chip a tooth. This recipe gets it right. These cookies come out of the oven just soft enough and they stay just soft enough for days. No chipped teeth over here. Only a full and happy tummy.

Here is my genius mother's recipe for sugar cookies:

3/4 cup shortening
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp lemon extract (I think this is the secret ingredient that makes them smell so goooood)
7 Tbsp milk
1 tsp salt
1 tsp soda
1 tsp vanilla
4 1/2 cups flour

Cream sugar and shortening. Add eggs and mix well. Stir in salt, soda, and flavorings. Add part of milk, then flour, then rest of milk. Dough will be very soft. Roll out to desired thickness and cut with your cookie cutters. Bake at 375 for about 5 minutes. Watch closely. It would be a sin to over-bake.

Then whip up some frosting and get to decorating. That's the fun part (besides eating them of course). We had a blast spending an evening with friends while we decorated (and ate) plenty of sugar cookies. And the recipe made so many, that I even had a few for breakfast the next day (oops). So if you are making these with a small group, I would suggest halving the recipe. We ended up with close to 30 cookies. Just call me Mrs. Fatty.