Italian Sugar Cookies

Total Time: 43 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 13 mins

Ingredients

• 4 cups sugar
• 2 cups vegetable shortening (such as crisco)
• 6 eggs
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 4 teaspoons lemon extract or 4 teaspoons vanilla or 4 teaspoons anise extract
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 7 1/2 cups flour (see instructions below)
• icing (optional) or nuts (optional)
• colored sugar sprinkle (optional)

Recipe

• 1 cream shortening and sugar with electric mixer.
• 2 add eggs one at a time and beat well.
• 3 add buttermilk, flavor extracts, baking soda and cream of tarter and blend well.
• 4 now by hand with a wooden spoon, add flour 1 cup at a time until the mixture is stiff.
• 5 drop from heaping tablespoons onto a lightly greased cookie sheet 2 to 3 inches apart. if not icing you may press on the nuts or sprinkles now (or you can ice or frost and decorate with sprinkles after baking).
• 6 bake in a preheated 375f oven, center oven rack, 10 to 13 minutes or until cookie edges are slightly brown and tops look set. do not overbake. overbaking cause dry, hard cookies.
• 7 carefully remove to rack to cool. frost or decorate as desired.
• 8 notes: recipe may be halved, cookies freeze well, for best baking use an insulated baking sheet as these tend to burn on the bottom. store airtight.