One of the few things I love more than reading, is cooking. So naturally when I started writing books of my own, that passion somehow keeps finding its way into my stories.
In my novel, WITH MY SOUL, the main character, Willa Jane, has more than the average share of brothers and sisters-seven, to be exact. One of her younger sisters, Cordelia, finds comfort for herself by nurturing others through food. Her covered dishes are always the first to be emptied at every church potluck held in their rural North Carolina town in the 1940’s, and her recipe book of her own top-secret fusions of gourmet cuisine and homestyle cooking proves to be an integral part of the book’s inspirational climax.
While this isn’t one of the dishes featured in the book, it is one of my personal favorites that I’ve tweaked and adapted over the years. My children and I use it every Christmas when making rows and rows of cut-out cookies, and I confess that my favorite way to enjoy them is for breakfast with a good, strong cup of coffee. After all, if a donut can count as breakfast food, why not a cookie?
Whatever time of day you enjoy them, I hope you can make as many wonderful memories of love and laughter as I have with this recipe. Happy National Sugar Cookie Day, y’all!
Best Sugar Cookie Recipe (Adapted from Allrecipe’s Soft Christmas Cookies recipe)
3 cups all-purpose flour + more for coating dough/rolling
1 tsp, baking powder
½ tsp. salt
1cup butter, softened
1 and 3/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together, set aside. In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Gradually blend in the sifted ingredients until fully absorbed. Cover dough, and chill for 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease cookie sheets. On a clean floured surface, roll out small portions of chilled dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut out shapes using cookie cutters.
Bake 8-10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are barely brown. Remove from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks.
Anaiah Press 