INGREDIENTS
- 1 C. sugar
- 2 ½ C. flour2 sticks of margarine (or butter)
- 1 tsp. baking soda1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 C. sour cream
- 1 egg1 tsp. vanilla
BUTTER CREAM FROSTING
- 1 stick of margarine, meltedPowdered sugar (start with ½ to ¾ of a bag)
- Pinch of salt
- 3-4 Tblsp Half and half Almond extract to taste, you can make it fairly strong
- Beat all ingredients thoroughly until smooth. Add food color if desired.
Heat oven to 350. Sift all dry ingredients together. Cut the margarine in chunks and work into the dry ingredients with a pastry blender until well blended (a Kitchen Aid stand mixer is heavy enough to do the work if you have one).
Mix the sour cream, egg and vanilla together and add to the margarine mixture. Mix well.
If you want to do cut-out cookies, this dough is very sticky so chill the dough and flour the board or counter well. Knead the dough with a little more flour before rolling out. Turn the dough as you roll and add more flour underneath to keep dough from sticking to your board. Roll smaller batches and don’t try to roll it too big or it is guaranteed to stick in the middle.
If you DO NOT want to do cut-outs, increase the flour to 3 cups and drop by teaspoon. I will flatten the cookies with a flat-bottomed water glass to get them fairly thin. (Put a little dough on the bottom of the glass, dip in flour and flatten the cookie. You’ll need to dip the glass often, maybe every cookie.)
Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet at 350 degrees until they are slightly brown around the edges and the cookie springs back when you test with your finger. About 10-12 minutes.
The frosting ingredients can be mixed to any consistency you like. I think it is the almond flavor that people like. Thicker frosting, use less half and half; thinner, more. You can also separate the frosting into several bowls and add different colors. Great way to entertain kids.
