When we were young, these were Mom’s go-to cookies. For everything. If we wanted a quick sugar fix, she made this recipe. If we wanted chocolate chip cookies, she simply added chocolate chips to this recipe and dropped them on the cookie sheet.
Mom was married in 1958 and received the classic Betty Crocker cookbook as a wedding gift. It was a good thing, too, since she had never learned to cook. Fortunately for Dad, their first church was within close proximity to his sisters and when they realized how little Mom knew, they took her under their wing. She became a terrific cook.
The cookbook was worn and used. I still have it and it is as much a treasure to me as anything. The page with Ethel’s sugar cookie recipe is long gone. However, much like the page in the picture, it was covered in dried dough, the page was wrinkled from wet spoons being dropped on it and it had been taped together so many times, it was quite heavy.
Here is the recipe. These are truly amazing.
Ethel’s Sugar Cookies
Mix together
1/2 C. butter, softened
1/4 C. shortening
1 C. sugar
2 Eggs, room temperature
1 T. vanilla (or lemon flavoring)
Add:
2 1/2 C. flour
1 t. baking powder
1 t. salt
Bake at 400 – 6-8 minutes
Ungreased baking sheet
