Grandma Janet’s White Cookies

PREP

Step 1

Measure 1 cup of sour cream into a medium bowl and stir in 1 teaspoon of baking soda. The sour cream will rise up.

TO MAKE THE DOUGH

Step 2

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat white sugar and shortening.

Step 3

Spoon sour cream into the sugar mixture

Step 4

And add vanilla.

Step 5

Beat on medium-high for 3 minutes, scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Step 6

Into a separate large bowl, dump 6 1/2 cups of flour and 1 teaspoon of baking powder, stirring so the powder is dispersed throughout.

Step 7

Add the flour to the cookie batter 1 cup at a time, beating on medium-low speed after each addition until all the flour is incorporated and the dough is stiff.

Step 8

If it’s not firming, sprinkle in more flour until stiff. You need a thick wooden to stir in the last few cups of flour by hand.

Step 9

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Step 10

The batter is ready when it’s firm and doesn’t stick on your finger.

Step 11

If the dough remains sticky, add a little more flour.

ROLL OUT & BAKE THE COOKIES

Step 12

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Step 13

On a heavily floured surface, roll a handful of cookie dough into a flattened 1/8-inch thick sheet, dusting with flour to prevent sticking.

Step 14

Cut the cookies using a lightly floured 2- or 3-inch round biscuit turning the cutter slightly as you lift it off the dough.

Step 15

Slide a lightly floured spatula under each cookie to ease it from the surface and transfer to a cookie sheet, lining cookies 1 inch part. (If the cookie sticks to the counter, there wasn’t enough flour on the rolling surface so add more next round.)

Step 16

Scatter sugar onto the tops of the cookies.

Step 17

Bake 7-8 minutes. The cookies go from white to golden brown in a matter of seconds so watch closely in the last minute. The whiter the cookies, the softer they are in the middle. For a crisper cookie, bake 8-10 minutes, removing from oven as they turn darker brown.