Walley Family Sugar Cookies - Dena's Initiation

Dena has officially participated in the all-important Walley Family Sugar Cookie Initiation Rite and has passed with flying colors. Not only did she intuitively grasp the subtleties of cutting out Sesame Street cookies, as well as excel at the difficult-to-master "sugar flop," but she thoroughly understands the importance of not overbaking these delicate masterpieces.

In the course of bringing Dena into the circle of sugar cookie mastery, we did have a close call. Thinking to include Mom and Dad in the cookie fun, we made one batch using Splenda instead of sugar. This was the first batch out of the oven and since I was rolling out dough for the next batch, I had Dena try one of them. She took a bite and then simply handed me the cookie and watched carefully as I took a bite. Mind you, I have been bragging about the family sugar cookies for a long time and she knew the pressure was on to, even if I didn't. Well, that bite was initially good, as the sugar on top dominated the flavor. But as I chewed, I realized that not only had the Splenda made the dough dry and crumbly (even with milk worked in), and the cookies drier at baking, but the substitute sweetener had basically ruined the cookie. I didn't hear it, but I believe Dena let out a sigh of relief when I declared that the cookie was bad and not at all what it should be. The next batch, made with regular sugar, were much better and under interrogation, Dena agreed that they are among the best sugar cookies ever made (leaving herself wiggle room in case she ever tastes better ones, which we all know is impossible and she will learn in time). All is well.

Oh, and here's the recipe for posterity's sake.

Walley Family Sugar Cookie Recipe

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1 cup (plain old white granulated) sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp. lemon extract OR 1 tsp. vanilla extract (I'm thinking about almond extract)
• 2 cups flour (regular old general purpose white flour; sifted)
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 3 tablespoons milk
• Food coloring if desired

Directions
Blend shortening, sugar, egg, and flavoring in the mixing bowl. If you are going to make colored cookies, add the food coloring at this point. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. (I often add the baking powder and salt directly to the wet mixture, then add the flour separately as follows.) Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture in about 3 phases, adding a portion of dry then a tablespoon of milk and repeating until all is mixed together in a good dough. (Do not try to finish mixing with your electric mixer unless you have a super-powerful stand mixer, or you might burn out the motor. Mix a reasonable amount and then finish by hand.) Chill the dough for at least an hour.

This dough is slightly too thick, which is why
the edge of the boat didn't cut cleanly.

After chilling, take roll the dough out on a floured board/counter or a pastry canvas (never seen one in my life, but it sounds intriguing). You'll usually want to roll the dough to a thickness of about 1 cm.; however, the thickness can vary according to which cookie cutters you are using. If the dough flakes too much, dip your fingers in milk and work the dough until it sticks together better. If it's too wet and sticky, work in some more flour. Make sure to flour your cookie cutters before cutting out the shapes; this is especially important when using ones with "faces." Flip each cookie face-down onto a plate of sugar and pat gently, then place face-up on an ungreased cookie sheet. (You might want to cover the cookie sheet in foil if it is old or non-nonstick.)

Bake cookies at 400 degrees for 7-10 minutes. Technically! In reality, you only bake them until the cookies set and the edges are just barely thinking of turning the slightest bit brown. This often turns out to be at 6 minutes. If you take them out and they are still too soft to move from cookie sheet to cooling surface, leave them on the cookie sheet for another minute or two, then carefully move with spatula.

Reese says "Eat with milk!"

These cookies can be preserved by freezing; the important thing in all storage methods is to not let them dry out. Even so, dry cookies can be revived by dunking them in milk. Milk cures everything.