Grandma Cumings was famous in our part of Michigan for her wonderful cooking. Casseroles, bread, fried chicken, baked beans and pie all flowed through her capable fingers. And she was willing to share them all, recipe-wise, except one: an amazing sugar cookie that stayed soft and delicious. The recipe had come down to Grandma from ancestors more than a century before...and she was proud of it.
Fortunately, she was willing to pass on the recipe to her children and grandchildren, who made her cookies by the bushelful at Christmastime. My mom would make dozens of sugar cookies, which were then decorated by Little Brother, yours truly and a close group of cousins during one very long day.
First, the confectioner's sugar frosting in different colors. (One cousin, a democratic sort, made sure to use a little of every color on each cookie.) Then chocolate chips for snowmen buttons, red cinnamon hots for eyes and lacy edges on stars and bells. Silver dragee balls for shoes and hats. (How come you can't find these much anymore?) And sprinkles everywhere...on the table, our smeary mouths, and the floor. By nighttime and supper, it looked as if someone threw up in rainbows on the kitchen floor!
Now you too can make these wonderful sugar cookies for your cookie platter.
GRANDMA'S SECRET SUGAR COOKIES
1 cup margarine (that's what Grandma used - but you can substitute butter)
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2/3 cup sour milk (or use regular milk with a teaspoon of vinegar stirred in - wait 5 min.)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt (may be omitted)
1 teaspoon nutmeg
4-5 cups flour
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Cream together margarine, sugar and eggs until they're mixed and fluffy. Add everything else and mix - last of all, the flour, added in one cup measures until you've got a moist cookie dough.
Heavily flour your work area. Thump a large batch of dough in the middle, and sprinkle generously with 1/2 cup flour. (I generally work with a quarter of the batch at a time.) Carefully fold the flour into the dough until it's easier to work without sticking, then roll out thickly (approx. 1/4") on your floured work area. (Add more flour whenever needed.) Cut cookies with whatever cutter you like -- or use a sharp knife to cut diamonds or squares. (A floured glass can also cut circles.)
Transfer the cookie cutouts to an ungreased cookie sheet, then bake 8-10 min., until the cookies are set and juuuussst starting to turn brown. (This step is very important.) Do not, if at all possible, let the cookies actually brown. Remove from the cookie sheet, and let cool before frosting.
These are not as sweet as some cookies -- something I actually prefer. You can sprinkle them with sugar, sprinkles or add red-hots before baking, to add sweetness. Or frost and decorate after the cookies are cool. Makes about 3 1/2 dozen. (Store flat in layers, with waxed paper in between -- or if you don't mind a bent leg or busted hat or too, just bung them in the cookie jar.)
Thank you, Grandma!
Back by popular demand -- I originally published this in the Holiday Goodies blog. You can read it there, along with many other recipes, by clicking on the link. We'll be making cookies tomorrow -- and I'll be thinking of Grandma Cumings, as well as The Mama, who made these ever since I could remember.
You'll love these soft, tender cookies.
2 comments:
Thanks for the cookie recipe. I have a sugar cookie recipe from my grandma, and they've never turned out just like the ones she made. Probably had to do with the fact that she didn't have to look at the recipe at all and could tell by the feel of the dough when to stop adding flour. Her molasses cookies were made in the same way. I really want to replicate some perfect grandma cookies someday!
I seem to recall, from one of my former lives, meeting a young lad named Cumings at Gitche Gumee Bible Camp in Eagle River, MI. Or perhaps that was the name of the John Deere dealership in Sparta?
Nadine, you are welcome...but I hesitate to answer your comment. You said a swear word -- at least, 'JD' was that in our house!! :) Actually, it was a CASE dealership; my uncle owned it, until he sold it to his sons, as well as my dad -- who was the service manager there for decades. I and my brother grew up on a farm a mile outside Sparta, not far from Camp Lake; the barnyard is where our fifth-wheel is parked now.
YES, the young lad you met (do you remember his first name?) must have been one of my cousins. My uncle Archie worked at a camp near the Au Sable River up north, as well.
My mom was the youngest of eight, who each married...nearly all had between 6-8 kids themselves, so I have a ton of first cousins. However, in spite of being my parents' oldest, I am one of the youngest cousins because of The Mama's birth order. I have cousins who are only a few years younger than their aunt... thanks so much for writing. I appreciate your sharp eyes to put things in context!
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