Beulah’s Sugar Cookies

This is a family favorite going back to my childhood. My mother got the recipe from my aunt’s mother-in-law, Beulah, and she made them often when I was growing up. It makes a huge batch. If you don’t want to bake it all at once, you can form the dough into logs to freeze. Then when you’re ready to bake, just slice and place on the cookie sheet. Very handy!

2 cups powdered sugar
2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
2 cups shortening
2 cups margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla
9 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspooon cream of tartar

Combine sugars, eggs, shortening, margarine and vanilla; mix thoroughly. Sift together remaining ingredients. Stir into sugar mixture. Form into small balls. Dip the bottom of a glass into water, then sugar. Use the glass to press each cookie onto ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees until light brown. Yields about 9 dozen.

Note: It’s pretty to use a cut crystal glass with a patterned bottom if you have one. We also use colored sugar on the cookie tops for special occasions. For Christmas this year we did some red and some green.