Elsie McNish,
Cookie Grandma
My great grandmother was known as Cookie Grandma because she always had these cookies in a jar. I wish I had known her. She was my father’s maternal grandmother. The recipe makes a dough that is hard to handle. Resist adding too much extra flour or they will turn out dry.
Ingredients
- 2 Eggs
- 1 cup Lard
- 2 1/2 cups Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 heaping teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1 teaspoon Lemon Extract
- 1 cup sour milk (buttermilk)
- 6 cups sifted flour
Directions
Add lemon extract to sour milk. Cream lard, sugar and eggs. Add salt, baking powder and baking soda. Alternate adding flour and sour milk until everything is combined. If dough is really sticky, add up to 1/2 cup more flour. The dough should be slightly sticky. If you add too much flour the cookies will be dry. Divide the dough into 3 or 4 pieces. Put into plastic wrap and flatten into rounds. Refrigerate until cold, up to several days. Roll the cold dough out to desired thickness. Thin ones will get crispy, thick ones will be more cake-like. Cookie Grandma made them thick. Cut out cookies with cutters. Sprinkle with sugar. (Leave plain if you want to frost them.) Bake at 375° F for 8-10 minutes. Cool on a rack. If you’ve left them plain, frost with Royal Icing.
Notes
Nope, I’ve never tried to make them vegetarian. Lard is what my great grandmother used and what makes these special.
Rolled thin to medium are best for decorating as they stay flatter. Thick ones tend to round up in the center.