My Great Great Grandma Selma’s Sugar Cookie Recipe

Today I’m going to share my Great Great Grandma Selma’s sugar cookie recipe! I had the pleasure of knowing my grandma for ten years before she passed away. I have joyful memories of grocery shopping with her, my great grandma and my grandma. When Selma got too old to shop, we’d sit in the bakery area and enjoy a sweet treat while the other grandmas shopped. I recall often playing the card game “Gold Fish” with her, as well as memories of painting her nails. She was a sweet woman and I am so thankful I got to know her for the short time I did. She was 93 when she passed away and though she wasn’t much of a chef in her later years when I knew her, it turns out she was quite the wizard in the kitchen in her younger years. Thankfully, many of her hand written recipes are preserved in binders that my aunt and uncle have in New York City.

Making this recipe with my daughter (Selma’s Great, Great, Great Granddaughter) somehow made me feel as if I was connecting the two in some way… bringing a tangible object from my grandma into the present for my daughter. Imaging my grandmother making these cookies around the holidays and tasting the same thing we are tasting now, nearly 100 years later is special to me.

Enough of the chit-chat, let’s get down to the recipe… 😉

Great Great Grandma Selma’s Sugar Cookie Recipe
Makes about 65 small cookies

Cookie Dough:

5 cups organic all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
2 sticks (1/2 lb) unsalted organic butter
1.5 cups gmo-free granulated sugar
2 organic eggs
1 cup organic sour cream
1 teaspoons organic vanilla

1. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and heat oven to 350°F
2. Whisk dry ingredients together: flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and set aside.

3. Cream butter and sugar in a mixer.
4. Add eggs one at a time, and mixing well. Add sour cream and vanilla and mix until combined well.

5. Slowly add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until combined.

6. Use a spoon to scoop out dough and roll dough into 1.5″ balls. Flatten balls out with the bottom of a glass dipped in flour to avoid dough sticking to the glass.

7. Bake for 10-12 minutes. The top of the cookie will not brown, however the bottom of the cookie will.

8. Cool completely and decorate!

Frosting:
2 sticks room-temp (1/2 lb) butter
1 teaspoon organic vanilla
3 cups organic powdered sugar
1-2 tablespoons organic milk (as needed to create a smooth consistency)
Seelect Natural Food Dye
Homemade Colored Sugar for Sprinkles
9. Frosting: Beat butter and vanilla using a hand mixer until creamy and smooth. Slowly add powdered sugar, mixing until combined well. Add milk and continue mix. Once frosting is made, divide up the frosting into small bowls, and add food coloring until the desired color is reached.

We used Seelect Natural Color brand food dye colors Red and Forest Green. We used 2 tsp of the red to reach our desired color and 1 tsp of the green.

***Though my grandma did not note if this dough could be used for sugar cookies that you roll out and cut shapes out of, we did try making three bears and it worked great. If you are going to cut shapes out of this dough, I recommend cooling it in the fridge for 2 hours before rolling out.

Happy Holidays!

 

 

All products used in this recipe were generously provided by, Lakewinds Food Co-op.