Homemade Sugar Cookies

This year, I got invited to my first ever Holiday Cookie Party.  Although I was unable to attend, the idea inspired me to bake some made-from-scratch sugar cookies using a recipe from one of my mom's old friends, Sheryl (if you're from Syracuse, you may have been the recipient of one her famous Santa Cookies... a much prettier and elaborate version of my sugar cookies.)


Home Made Sugar Cookies

Dough:

Mix together the following ingredients in a large bowl:
1 cup crisco or margerine
3 eggs
1.5 cups granulated sugar
1 tsp almond extract
2 tsp vanilla extract

Mix together these ingredients in a medium bowl:
4.5 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda

Add flour mixture to the larger bowl of wet mix.  Mix well, divide into equal size balls and chill overnight or at least four hours.  When you're ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Put parchment or baking paper on a cookie sheet.  Roll out one ball at a time to about 1/4 inch thickness.  Put some flour on a plate to dip your cookie cutter in.  Cut cookies and place on parchment paper leaving about two fingers of space in between.  Bake for 8-10 minutes or until cookies are just starting to turn golden on the edges (baking time varies by oven... mine took a few extra minutes.)  Let the cookies cool for 1 minute then move them to a cooling rack.  Frost after they're completely cooled.

Frosting:

Mix together in a medium bowl:
2 lbs confectioner's sugar
1 cup crisco or margerine
2 tsp almond extract
2 tsp vanilla extract
6 tbsp of milk

I used food coloring to make mine yellow but clearly I need a little work in the decoration department :)  I also let them sit out so the cookies become more crunchy and the frosting hardens.  Enjoy!