A few days ago I pulled out an old friend from my recipe box … Its been 20 years since I wrote out the recipe for my Grandma Brubacher’s sugar cookieson a little index card. It has been a family favorite for as long as I can remember. My Grandma would bake them at the holidays; my mom made them for special occasions all throughout my childhood. Now my sister and I make them regularly for any good reason we can think of.
Lately I had been branching out, trying new sugar cookies – I’ve even shared a recipe on here that I enjoy. But honestly, there is nothing that compares to these cookies. They are delightful, the combination of flavor and texture, is just perfect.
On Canadian Thanksgiving Isaac requested “those pumpkin cookies from last year with the orange frosting”, and so I knew what I should do. And then, I did something unexpected. When the cookies had been baked and were cooled, I frosted them with maple cream cheese frosting; the delightful became divine. Normally, I would have prepared one of the regular frostings with almond or vanilla flavor. But this. Oh. my. goodness. This came together like it was meant to be. I’m not sure I’ll ever go back to normal.
On this Friday, as fall is settling in, and the holidays are getting closer every day, I thought you might need this recipe. Be prepared, if you make them once, you’ll have to make them again and again. I promise you, people will make requests for these.
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Grandma B’s sugar cookies:
Ingredients:
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup margarine ( I use butter)
3 eggs
2 tsp cream of tartar
2 tsp baking soda
3 tsp vanilla
41/2 – 5 cups flour
Instructions:
Cream together brown sugar and butter. Lightly beat the eggs, then combine them well with the sugar/butter mixture. Add the vanilla. Combine the dry ingredients then mix into the wet ingredients a bit at a time until fully incorporated. I find that depending on how humid it is, you may need 5 cups to keep the dough from being too sticky as you roll it out.
Take a portion of the dough and roll it out on a floured surface – to about a 1/4 inch thick, maybe a bit thinner. Keep in mind these cookies will puff up just a bit when baking. Cut shapes with a cutter (dusted with flour) and place on a cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 7 -8 minutes. (possibly longer, depending on how thick your cookies are.)
Cream cheese frosting:
Cream together the following ingredients until smooth and spreadable: 8 oz cream cheese, 1 stick of butter, 4 -5 cups of confectioner’s sugar, 2-3 tablespoons of maple syrup (or a few tsp of maple flavoring.)
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I hope you love these cookies as much as I do!
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