These are the sugar cookies of my childhood, and nothing quite compares! I’m a bit of a sugar cookie snob, generally bypassing professional cut-outs. It seems that whatever looks too good to eat generally doesn’t taste worth eating.
Buttery, tender, and even a little crispy, I cranked out 8 dozen of these Amish Sugar Cookies Saturday morning for my girls to hand out at our Tiny Town Christmas parade. They are melt-in-your mouth delicious!
Amish Sugar Cookies
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup shortening (I use palm shortening.)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 4½ cups unbleached flour
Cream butter, shortening, sugar, and powdered sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add baking soda and cream of tartar. Stir in flour, one cup at a time, until well blended.
Roll dough into balls. (I use my 2 teaspoon cookie scoop to keep them uniform, then roll into balls.) Place balls on a cookie sheet. Dip the bottom of a drinking glass into sugar (to keep it from sticking), then press balls. bake at 375° for 8-10 minutes.
Allow cookies to cool for a couple of minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Makes 8 dozen small cookies.
Icing
- 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 6 Tablespoons milk
- food coloring
- sprinkles
Mix melted butter, sugar, vanilla, and milk until well blended. Add more sugar or more milk to make icing thicker or thinner. Decorate cooled cookies with icing and sprinkles.
*** For sugar cookie cut-outs: Because this makes such a tender cookie, it’s a bit tricky for cut-outs. What works best for me is to keep it cold, use parchment paper, and work quickly! Lay a sheet of parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Place a refrigerated ball of dough on the paper, and cover with another sheet of parchment paper. Roll it out between the two sheets. Remove the top sheet and cut with cookie cutters. Refrigerate again. Once cold, then remove the cookies to bake. Repeat. (Yes, takes time, but if you like cut-outs, these are worth it!)
Sugar cookies: Love ‘em or leave ‘em? Must have cutouts or any shape will do?
You are right, Amish Sugar Cookies are the best kind of sugar cookie!! They are at the top of my list for best cookie ever…so good!
I prefer gingerbread cookies to sugar, because I’m a spicy kind of gal.
For sugar-type cookies, I MUST have my German grandma’s (the recipe goes back way before her) Sour Cream Cookies. http://www.parentingmiracles.net/2009/02/perfect-holiday-cookie/ They’re tender with a rich zing to them. They’re pretty– and I do cut them out– but you need to keep the dough super cold and keep plenty of flour on hand. 
Yours look yummy– and what a fun way to bring joy to Tiny Town!
Is the shortening necessary? Could I use twice the amount of butter instead? I usually only bake with butter and don’t keep shortening on hand. Do you use the shortening sticks or the tub? Thanks.
Unfortunately, it is. And honestly, that’s why I quit making these a few years ago when I banned shortening from our home.
But when I found palm shortening… game on! 
If you use twice the amount of butter you will end up with a very flat, runny (albeit tasty!) cookie mess.
Okay thanks. I’ll look for palm shortening.
What about using oil instead of shortening? I don’t use shortening either, but I have had some luck with subbing oil in smaller quantities. Hmmm….I think I’ll just have to try it.
Let me know how they hold up for you!
I’m thinking the oil would make them greasy, but maybe if you do the smaller amount like you said, you’d be fine.
I used 1/2 cup veg oil and it worked. Of course I have no idea how they compare to ones made with shortening. I didn’t try to make cut outs with them. I’ll have to look for palm shortening so I can try them.
These are like my grandma’s but she used only 1 cup of oil in her recipe. Delicious.
I’m going to try these today!
BTW, do you have a plugin for your printable recipe form or is it part of your theme? I really like it.
It’s a special coded plugin, I think. Jen from newseasondesign.com can hook you up.
These are delicious! I’m also a sugar cookie snob, and have never found a good homemade sugar cookie recipe (until now). But we always bake and decorate sugar cookies as part of our Christmas fun. This year, I’ll actually enjoy eating them!
BTW, I made butter work just fine. I had planned on making sugar cookies today, but switched to your recipe at the last minute. I didn’t have enough shortening on hand (my last 1/4 cup that I couldn’t bring myself to throw away; I almost never use it, and can now start using palm; yay!) I ended up using 1/4 cup shortening, 1/4 cup coconut oil, and 1/2 cup butter in place of the 1 cup shortening. Just refrigerate the dough before baking. It also helped to put the cookies in the fridge for a few minutes after flattening, but before baking. I think using all butter would work just fine this way, too.
Good to know! I refrigerate if I’m making different shapes, but don’t bother with the circles. Way to make it work!
Is the melted butter that is listed in the icing ingredient list an error? I see it in the ingredients but not in the instructions. Thanks for the wonderful recipe! We’re trying these tonight!
Thank you for catching that! I added it to the instructions.
Got it! Thank you!
Where do you find palm shortening? What is it?
I buy mine from Tropical Traditions, but I’ve also seen it on Amazon (I can’t attest to the quality of that brand, though). It’s basically a real food alternative to “crisco” shortening that does have some health benefits.