Butter Cookies

My mom and I made these cookies together every year as I was growing up, and to me they are the very best Christmas cookies. I was pretty excited that Graham is finally old enough to enjoy this kind of activity with me. We love baking together! Whenever it's time to pour in an ingredient he says, "that's Graham's job." Last Tuesday we made the dough and let it sit in the fridge overnight. On Wednesday we rolled it out, cut out the cookies, applied sprinkles, and baked them. Graham had fun but lost interest about halfway though. Molly now likes to flip out as soon as I decide I'd like to cook something, so I would not have been able to finish without sweet Betty helping me with her! I think that our hard work was worth it because when I served these cookies during our team devotional last week, they were all eaten!

Here's the recipe (you're welcome!):

Butter Cookies

Ingredients:

1 c. butter (they are butter cookies, after all)

1 c. sugar

1 egg

2 T. cream or milk

1 T. grated orange zest (I always omit this)

1 t. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

1 t. vanilla

3 c. flour

Sprinkles or icing for decorating

Cream butter and sugar. Blend in egg, cream, zest, baking powder, salt, and vanilla. Gradually add flour until combined. Chill in refrigerator for at least 1 hour. Roll out 1/3 at a time about 1/4-1/8 thickness*. Bake at 400 for 5-7 minutes. 

*If you roll the dough too thin the cookies will be crisp and not soft. They will also bake faster.