sugar cookies

My Aunt Madge –bless her. Seriously, she is the best! You have to understand my family and all my other aunts to fully appreciate my Aunt Madge. All my aunts have their skills and talents and awesome things about them, but my Aunt Madge is so very different from my other aunts. Maybe it’s because I was always at their house and so I got to know her better. Maybe it’s because she played “their coming to take me away ha-ha” over their house intercom in the mornings to wake up her children while dancing through the house like a lunatic. Maybe it’s because she always had frozen treats in their carpeted pantry freezer (the pantry was carpeted, not the freezer). I think I had a great connection with her though, because she is such a good cook. Her daughter, the lovely Melissa, is an incredible cookie/cake master. Seriously, check out these cookies. I don’t care who you are, it’s impossible to not like a soft, moist sugar cookie and obviously, hers are the best. So, here’s Aunt Madge’s sugar cookie recipe (adapted by Melissa).

(image from biggestmenu.com)

Sugar Cookies

1 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup instant vanilla or cheesecake pudding
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar

Cream the butter, powdered sugar and instant pudding very well until light and fluffy. Slowly beat in the egg, vanilla and almond extract. Add the flour, baking soda and cream of tartar and mix until just combined. Form dough into a ball and wrap well. Chill for 1 hour. After chilling, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Roll dough out 1/4 inch thick and cut into desired shapes. Bake for 8 – 10 minutes until a light golden brown edge appears on cookies. Frost with Cream Cheese or Royal Icing frosting (below).

Royal Icing Frosting

1 cup C&H (in the box) powdered sugar
5 Tablespoons meringue powder
Scant 1/2 cup water (just shy of 1/2 cup)

Beat all ingredients in a mixer or with a hand mixer for 7 to 8 minutes. Scoop some in a bowl and color it with desired food coloring. Then, a teaspoon at a time, add water until it just becomes runny. Fill a pastry bag with a #3 tip. Outline the cookie and, then with zigzags, fill the center. With a toothpick, brush the frosting to fill in all the holes. If it doesn’t smooth out, your frosting is too thick.