My grandma Esther, who passed away in 2003, was known for her sugar cookies. She also made rum balls, spritz cookies and more. I have started making her sugar cookies with my son Cam! 

Here's the recipe: 

    1 1/2 cups butter, softened 

    2 cups white sugar 

    4 eggs 

    1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

    5 cups all-purpose flour 

    2 teaspoons baking powder 

    1 teaspoon salt 


 In a  large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).    Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).  Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any  cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased  cookie sheets.    Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely. 

And here is her icing recipe, though on these cookies we used a different type of icing. This makes a shiny, drizzly icing that hardens to a shiny finish. It works well with adding food coloring too. 

Icing Recipe: 

•     1 cup confectioners' sugar
•     2 teaspoons milk
•     2 teaspoons light corn syrup
•     1/4 teaspoon almond extract
•     assorted food coloring

    In a small bowl, stir together confectioners' sugar and milk until smooth. Beat in corn syrup and almond extract until icing is smooth and glossy. If icing is too thick, add more corn syrup. 
    Divide into separate bowls, and add food colorings to each to desired intensity. Dip cookies, or paint them with a brush. 

First, I doubled the recipe and mixed everything in my  Kitchen Aid mixer. My grandma mixed most of her cookies with a spoon, the old-school way. 

Then I wrapped everything in wax paper to chill for a few hours: 

Now it's ready to roll! I got out my cookie cutters, including 2  vintage cookie cutters from my grandma. You can find everything you need on ebay for perfect Christmas cookies.