Sugar Cookies

Makes 3 dozens

Charlotte

Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

1 ½ cup flour
1 ½ tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. salt

½ cup butter

½ cup sugar
1 egg yolk, slightly beaten
3 tablespoons milk
½ tsp. vanilla
Decorations: pecans, maraschino cherries, optional

Instructions
Stir flour, baking powder and salt together.  In a separate bowl, cream the butter; add sugar gradually, beating between additions.  Add egg yolk; mix well.  Add dry ingredients alternately with milk; add vanilla.  Chill dough thoroughly.  Roll dough ¼ thick on a lightly floured board; cut dough with cookie cutters.  If you want decorate with a half a pecan or half a maraschino cherry.
Bake on ungreased cookie sheet in a moderate oven (375 F) for 8-10 minutes.  Cook in the middle of the oven, not on bottom.

Cookies freeze well.

Variation

Let the children decorate before or after baking. 

To decorate before baking

To make an egg paint, place egg yolk in a small dish (or two small dishes or saucers) and tint with food color. Stir to mix.  Apply the tinted egg yolk to the cookies and then bake.  The color will remain on the cookies after they are baked.  To also apply small decorations to the cookies before baking; you can cut small pieces of jujube candies into shapes or buy decorations. Brush a bit of Carnation milk on cookie and apply the Jujube shapes, raisins or decorations.  Bake.
(Note: Egg paint and decorations look great on gingerbread cookies and then bake your cookies.)    
To decorate after baking

Make butter icing or glaze recipe below.  Ice the cookies with the icing and decorate.

Glaze for cookies recipe

2 tablespoons water or milk

10 tablespoons icing sugar, approx.

In small bowl, add water or milk. Add sifted icing sugar until you get the correct amount of sugar. I used about 10 tablespoons of icing sugar and added a bit more sugar to make a white glaze.

Christmas trees Sugar Cookies