For several months, these refrigerator cookies freeze wonderfully.
| Prep Time: | 20 mins |
| Cook Time: | 10 mins |
| Additional Time: | 3 hrs |
| Total Time: | 3 hrs 30 mins |
| Servings: | 42 |
| Yield: | 7 dozen |
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup shortening
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup colored sugar for decoration
Instructions
- Combine flour, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl. Set aside.
- Stir together shortening, sugar, eggs, and vanilla in a separate large bowl. Mix in flour mixture with your hands until well blended.
- Divide dough into 3 parts; shape each part into a cylinder, 1 1/2 inches in diameter and about 7 inches long. Roll cylinders in colored sugar. Chill, covered, in the refrigerator for several hours to overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C). Grease baking sheets.
- Cut cylinders into 1/4-inch slices and place on the prepared baking sheets.
- Bake in the preheated oven until edges are lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Cool on the baking sheets briefly before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
- You can use finely chopped nuts instead of colored sugar.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 104 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 13 g |
| Cholesterol | 9 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 0 g |
| Protein | 1 g |
| Saturated Fat | 1 g |
| Sodium | 74 mg |
| Sugars | 6 g |
| Fat | 5 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Followed the recipe. Added food coloring or different flavoring for each batch. As good as my mother-in-law’s recipe. Everyone’s favorite.
I’m not sure what will come out of it, but I just finished making the dough and… it’s so soft, cake-like, with no way of rolling and shaping it at all. Most probably won’t make it again, maybe as cake because it’s very easy but no way to use it as cookies. ??
As written, I give this 3 stars. With changes, it is better. Here’s what I changed: I added 1 tsp almond extract to the dough and made sure it was wrapped with a wet towel at all times. Do not let this dough dry out. Your cookies will turn out crumbling and falling apart. You want to work in all of the ingredients but handling this dough too much will also dry it out. When you go to put in the fridge, I would wrap in wet paper towel, then in saran wrap and put in a ziplock bag. The idea is….not to let it dry out.
My dough was very soft, I am not sure if that’s how it was to be, I made them plain did not roll in sugar or anything else. Also I greased my cookie sheet as I did not have parchment paper. The cookies came out a little greasy but the kids loved them. I will be doing another batch tomorrow with a little variation.
I made it in a blueberry cake form and it was delicious!
Fabulous recipe…my oven is equipped with convection cooking which I used for the last 3 minutes of baking (8 minutes regular bake & final 3 minutes convection gave these perfect bottom browning. I tried 10 minutes of regular bake & these were NOT BROWN ENOUGH. My oven is tested & set for true temperature. Oven temperature varies for each oven—good idea to calibrate your own oven!
These cookies are absolutely perfect; I did not change a thing. We have made them plain, rolled in nuts, and even with a jelly filled dent in the top. This really is the perfect shortbread recipe!
this was the best cookie for Christmas . love it
very easy recipe, quick and easy clean up
Perfect cookie! Will make again!
I thought they were a bit bland and won’t make the again
It came out very good but I had to keep it in the oven longer
Hello. yes, I will be making these simply wonderful cookies. I did use coarse-sugar since those colored sugar just looked too Christmas to me. I think I have some ideas for this dough already. The last batch, I cut the cookies thicker, to make them softer. I cooled them and filled hard ice cream on one cookie, and another on top. YUM & MORE YUM. good day
These cookies baked up fine and were easy enough. I think I just prefer cookies made with butter. While they were pretty well received I thought they tasted like the slice and bake cookies from the refrigerator case at the grocery store.
I have an old similar recipe and thought I’d try this one. I didn’t like it. Not sweet enough and not much of a rise and spread on the cookie. Not for me.
My Mom made these when I was a child and I never thought to get the recipe until it was to late and it got lost. They are good when anybody makes them not just your Mom. I’m so happy to have found them it time for my kids and grandkids to share a memory with me. We can have 4 generation tea party. Oh by the way they taste great won’t be any to freeze .
Excellent. I made it AS-IS. 2nd time, I increased the sugar by 2 tablespoons and added 2 heaping tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa. Also good and picked up a little bit of the sweetness. A bit harder to roll but made it easier by doing it with wet hands. I prefer the plain version. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
It’s ok but might be too much salt. Both me and my daughter can really taste the salt in every bite even if we sugared or iced them. Easy to make but really not that good.
Followed the recipe as written and they were delicious!
This is great old fashioned sugar cookie recipe. I follow the recipe and it always comes out perfect. I make it every year as one of my Christmas cookies.
Ahhhh-finally the perfect cookie recipe to make quickly, with great results. This is a keeper! Tasty, with great texture. And, they can be made with ingredients that most cooks have on hand all the time. Only drawback–you really can’t eat just one!