Sugar Cookies

{soft, chewy, melt in your mouth delicious}
Sometimes I crave these because they are not only yummy but fun to make and give away to friends. I came across this perfect recipe by trial and error, believe it or not. 

Ingredients:
1/3 cup margarine or butter, softened
1/3 cup shortening
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
dash of salt


Directions:
Beat butter and shortening with electric mixer on medium for 30 seconds. Add half of the flour, egg, sugar, vanilla, milk, baking powder and salt. Mix well, then add the remaining flour and mix (you may have to use a big wooden spoon or your hands to finish combining the flour.) Once it's all mixed together, lump it together, cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes. You can also freeze it and use it later. To thaw, just leave it out on the counter until you are able to roll it out with out breaking your rolling pin *wink*. 
Roll out and use cookie cutters to create shapes. Place on greased cookie sheet, bake at 350F for 7-9 minutes. 

And of course, don't forget to frost them! Here is a quick and easy icing:
1 cup powdered sugar (icing sugar if you are Canadian)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
Lemon Juice (milk works well, too)
Mix together until drizzling consistency. Add food coloring, optional. 

  Tips: With making sugar cookies, or all cookie for that matter, I've come across some interesting facts. With sugar cookies, it's always best to chill them before you roll them out and especially if you plan on using cookie cutters. The firmness of the dough allows it to more easily be handled by warm hands- it also keeps the dough from, in a sense, melting! If the oven is too hot, the dough will run like crazy and your cookies will be crunchy and flat! Remember, cookies will keep baking once you take them out of the oven because of how hot the cookie sheet is- and always let them cool a bit before you transfer them.