Cookies!

Last year Ryan and I made Martha's version of sugar cookes. The dough was crumbly, the cookie was hard and flavorless. This year I wanted all that work to yield a wonderfully nostalgic taste. Thats where my mom comes in. Shes an old pro when it comes to Christmas Cookies. This is the recipe shes been using since I was a kid. From what I remember it was on a faded piece of construction and shoved in the Joy of Cooking.

Mom's Sugar Cookies
1 cup Crisco, or unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar (optional)
1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix the first 4 ingredients until well mixed. Fold in the remaining ingredients. Chill dough for at least 2 hours.
Preheat oven 375*. Roll dough to 1/8th of an inch. Decorate with colored sugar. Bake for 6-7 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack.

Makes around 4 dozen depending on the size of your cookies. Probably less if you are a lover of eating raw dough.