Soft Sugar Cookies

SOFT SUGAR COOKIES

1 cup of sour milk
1 teaspoon of soda
2 cups of sugar
½ cup of shortening
salt and vanilla to taste
2 ½ cups of flour, minimum

The old, old book I copied this from said "flour to knead". It might better have said "need". You don't want to knead cookie dough. It toughens. Ideally you should be able to roll this out and cut round cookies. The more flour you use the easier it is to handle, and the less good it tastes. Sprinkle the cookies with granulated sugar before baking. Grease the cookie sheets. Bake at 350°to 375° until just faintly tan around the edges. These never come out twice the same for me, but always good. Practice before planning to use them for a party.

You have to get to know your own pans. I tried some bakers' black ones and threw them out because every pan burned. I couldn't adapt to the reduced time they needed. Now I have a big new aluminum one with air space between layers. Can't trust it yet.
Cookie sheets make good covers for large pans in the oven. They also make emergency counter space, laid across an open drawer. For very small children they can serve as snow sliders, but this is not recommended. They also make good windscreens for camp stoves.

I use a pastry cloth and a knit sock on the rolling pin. I currently have a marble rolling pin, because it's handsome, but the wooden one rolls just as well.

You can make a cup of sour milk by putting 1 1/3 tablespoons of vinegar, or 1 ½ tablespoons of lemon juice into a cup and adding milk to fill it.