"STIR IT UP, LITTLE DARLING, STIR IT UP" -Bob Marley

the great cookie bake-a-thon of '08 consisted of...

3 bakers, a kitchen brimming with ingredients, and a naked chef

we had some fabulous letter cookie cutters that were simply begging to be used.
so we stirred up the ingredients and made some dough.
first, we used the cutters on some traditional sugar cookie dough.
then, we discovered they also work surprisingly well on miss debby cookie dough.

SUGAR COOKIES

hands down, this is the cookie recipe i have made most in my life. it came from my mom's old red betty crocker cookbook. when you get her cookbook out the pages practically fall open to this recipe. we have cut this dough into every shape imaginable (including footballs, pumpkins, stars, hearts, eggs, rings, and countless others). in high school i made it several times a month. in college i would come home to my parents' kitchen and make it. at our wedding reception there was a kids' area. one of the activities there was a table stocked with icing, sprinkles, and heart shaped cookies for the kids to frost, decorate and eat. after we got married this recipe was one of the first things i made with my beloved kitchenaid mixer. rarely can i make just one batch of it. i usually triple or quadruple it. you can cook these ahead of time, put the cooled cookies in ziplock bags in the freezer, and then get them out later when you are ready to add icing and serve.

1/2 C CRISCO SHORTENING
1/4 C BUTTER
1 C SUGAR
2 EGGS
1 t VANILLA*
2 1/2 C FLOUR**
1 t BAKING POWDER
1 t SALT

BLEND SHORTENING, SOFTENED BUTTER, SUGAR, EGGS, AND VANILLA.
(*our motto is you can never have enough vanilla, so i don't measure it, just pour it on it)
ADD DRY INGREDIENTS AND STIR UNTIL WELL BLENDED.
PLACE DOUGH IN THE REFRIGERATOR UNTIL FIRM.
ROLL OUT WITH ROLLING PIN ON FLOURED CUTTING BOARD.
(**don't be afraid to add a lot of flour to the cutting board and the dough.
you need it to roll the dough out successfully and to be able to use the cookie cutters.)
USE COOKIE CUTTERS TO CUT DOUGH INTO DESIRED SHAPES.
PLACE ON COOKIE SHEET (i usually use baking stones).
BAKE AT 400 DEGREES FOR 6-8 MINUTES.
LET COOL FOR 1-2 MINUTES ON COOKIE SHEET THEN TRANSFER TO COOLING RACKS.
ONCE COMPLETELY COOLED ADD ICING AND DECORATIONS.


THE SUGAR COOKIE ICING
when it comes time to decorate the sugar cookies you can easily buy the store tubs of icing and even add food coloring directly to it. or you can make homemade icing using the following recipe. i think this recipe completes the sugar cookies perfectly. although when i am in a hurry i use the store bought kind. either one adds a sweet, tasty finish to a delicious cookie.

1/2 STICK BUTTER
2 C POWDERED SUGAR
VANILLA
MILK
FOOD COLORING

MIX SOFTENED BUTTER AND POWDERED SUGAR. ADD VANILLA (again, i don't really measure. i just pour it into the cap of the vanilla bottle and put in a couple capfuls).
ADD ONE TABLESPOON OF MILK AT A TIME UNTIL THE ICING IS A GOOD CONSISTENCY FOR SPREADING ON COOKIES (not too thick, but definitely not runny. err on the thick side).
SEPARATE THE ICING INTO BOWLS OR SMALL CONTAINERS.
ADD A DIFFERENT COLOR FOOD COLORING TO EACH BOWL. (i love the "wilton icing colors" because the colors turn out much more vibrant than traditional food coloring. i know you can get them at walmart or michaels).
STIR IN FOOD COLORING UNTIL NO WHITE IS LEFT SHOWING.
USE KNIVES OR POPSICLE STICKS TO SPREAD ICING ONTO COOKIES.



MISS DEBBY COOKIES











while the luttrell family was perfecting the sugar cookies on the north side of town, the brown family across town were experts at this recipe. whenever i would go over to natalie's house her mom would be making a fresh batch of these. i still can't decide whether i like the dough or the finished product more because both are so good. the smell and taste of them instantly takes me back to high school slumber parties and sitting on the brown's kitchen counter talking for hours.

1 C SUGAR
1 C BROWN SUGAR (C&H)
1 C CRISCO
2 EGGS
2 C FLOUR
1 t BAKING SODA
1/2 t BAKING POWDER
1/2 t SALT
2 C OATS
1 t VANILLA
12 oz CHOCOLATE CHIPS

BLEND SUGAR, BROWN SUGAR, AND CRISCO WELL.
SIFT ALL DRY INGREDIENTS.
ADD THE DRY INGREDIENTS TO THE MIXTURE AND STIR.
ADD OATS, VANILLA, AND CHOCOLATE CHIPS.
DROP DOUGH BY THE SPOONFUL ON COOKIE SHEETS.
BAKE AT 350 DEGREES FOR 8-10 MINUTES.
LET COOL ON COOLING RACKS.