Sugar Cookies with grated orange!

The first time I made these sugar cookies, I was in my teens and being a teen, decided not to follow the recipe. It was the grated orange rind that confounded me. It didn't sound very appetizing, so I omitted the rind and the orange juice. At the time, I didn't understand that baking is more of a science. That if something is left out, then something else similar needs to go in its place.  The cookies turned out hard as rocks and would have broken my teeth,  had they not been fortified with Mr. Lindberg's raw milk from his small farm across the street.

This is my mother's recipe, I don't know where she got it, but needless to say, I follow it to the letter, with one exception, I use butter instead of shortening. But that is okay, because it is replacing one like thing for another. Years ago after moving to Texas, I wanted to make these cookies. I asked Mom to send me the recipe. Here it is, hand written and perfect.

These cookies have great flavor. They are moist and easy to roll out.

Mom's handwritten recipe. Thanks Mom.

Ingredients:
2/3 cup shortening (I use unsalted butter, allow butter to sit out for a while)
1 1/4 cup white granulated sugar
2 eggs
3 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
grated one 1 orange rind
1 tablespoon orange juice (squeezed from the zested orange)

Cream shortening (butter), sugar and egg together. Shift flour, salt, baking powder and add to the first mixture add orange rind and juice and make into a smooth ball. It should be just a little tacky to the touch. Chill in the fridge for an hour or longer.
When your dough is chilled, take it out of the fridge. Roll it out on a flat floured surface. Select a cookie cutter or several. Punch out the cookies. Put them on an ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake in moderate preheated oven at 325 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes. When you see the cookies getting golden at the edge, it is time to take them out. (the card says 60 cookies, I made about 25. So much depends on the size of the cookies. The ones in the picture are about 3 inches across.)

These cookies do not change color on the top, but the edges will get golden. This is the underside of how they look.

Butter cream frosting works just fine. The good news about the cookies, they can be eaten with our without frosting, but they are fun to frost and decorate to your hearts content. They are also fun to make for Valentine's Day.


Quote of the day:
“Cookies were much better eaten then sold, and they were best homemade.” 
― Jesse Haubert, We Found a Horse and Other Stories