December 8, 2011: My Mom’s Best Cutout Cookies Recipe

I recently got a letter (in the mail! – when’s the last time you got one of those?) from my Aunt Tillie in Wisconsin. She and Uncle Wayne visited us during the summer and of course, I had to feed them (not that I had to, but wanted to as I really enjoy playing hostess).

According to her letter, Aunt Tillie remembers the yummy limeade I made for her (she wants the recipe) and the pot I used to serve my mom’s macaroni salad recipe in (unfortunately, it’s a Desco coated cast iron Dutch oven that is no longer available). But along with her nice little note, she included a pair of hot pads she made and the recipe she uses to make “cutout” cookies (sugar cookies cut into shapes) each and every year because it’s the best. She got the recipe from my mom in the 60s and, in fact, there's a little handwritten note on the page that says "use this one always - no other as good".

It was so neat to find a copy of her original recipe in the letter from Aunt Tillie. I remember making these cookies with my mom but I never got the recipe before she died so I’m very thankful to my aunt for giving me something as invaluable as that.

Go ahead and give this recipe a try and see if it won’t end up being the one you make year after year, without fail.

I'm not the world's best decorator (I don't have the patience) but all that really matters is how the cookies taste (yummy!).

Dorothy’s Cutout Cookies

2 1/3 cups flour

2 t. baking powder

½ t. salt

2/3 cup butter

2/3 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 t. vanilla

Mix together dry ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla, beating with a spoon until well incorporated. Add the dry ingredients and combine. Refrigerate dough at least two hours, or overnight, before cutting into shapes.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10 degrees on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bonus Recipe: Cutout Cookie Frosting

When making cookies with my mom, we never measured ingredients for frosting. This is the gist of the recipe:

In a deep mixing bowl, pour in about 2 cups confectioner’s (powdered) sugar. Add about 1 tablespoon butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and a tablespoon of milk. Beat with hand mixer on high, adding more sugar, if necessary, to make a stiff icing.