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Ethel's Sugar Cookies

Ethel’s Sugar Cookies

Photo Credit
Cheryl E. Davis/Shutterstock
Written By: Catherine Boeckmann Executive Digital Editor and Master Gardener
Yield
Makes 3 to 4 dozen cookies (depending on size of cutter)
Category
Cookies and Bars
Course
Desserts
Occasions
Christmas
Preparation Method
Bake
Credit
1977 Betty Crocker’s Cooky Book
Sources
More Great New England Recipes

This is the BEST sugar cookie recipe—from the Betty Crocker’s Cooky Book—that we make every year. Ethel’s Sugar Cookies are thick and cakey with just the right amount of sweetness and a hint of vanilla. These are popular around the holidays—and every time of year!

We have tried other sugar cookie doughs but always returned to Ethel’s. They remind us of the sugar cookies we ate as children. We especially enjoy how easy the dough is to roll with a rolling pin; the combination of butter and shortening creates a nice, sturdy dough. 

The cookies can either be topped with sprinkles before baking or iced after they have been cooked and cooled. For a crowd, multiply the cookie recipe as needed in big batches. 

Find more easy and delicious holiday cookie recipes here.

Ingredients
1/4 cup shortening
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
2-1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

  1. Mix butter, shortening, sugar, eggs, and vanilla thoroughly.
  2. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt, and blend into egg mixture. 
  3. Divide dough into two discs.  Cover each with plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour or overnight.
  4. Heat oven to 400 degrees.
  5. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and allow it to sit on the counter for 15 to 30 minutes, depending on the temperature of your kitchen. 
  6. Roll out dough to 1/8-inch to 1/4-inch thickness on a floured board. 
  7. Cut into desired shapes and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.
  8. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes at 400°F, until cookies are a delicate golden color. Cool on a wire rack.  
  9. If desired, decorate with icing. See recipe below.

Easy Cream Icing

Ingredients
1 cup sifted confectioner’s sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 to 3 Tablespoons cream or milk
food coloring or icing tints

Instructions

  1. Blend sugar, salt, and vanilla. 
  2. Add 1 tablespoon of cream/milk at a time until icing reaches a spreadable consistency. 
  3. Add food coloring. Spread on cookies with an off-set spatula.

About The Author
Catherine Boeckmann

Catherine Boeckmann

Executive Digital Editor and Master Gardener

Catherine Boeckmann is the Executive Digital Editor of Almanac.com, the website companion of The Old Farmer's Almanac. She covers gardening, plants, pest control, soil composition, seasonal and moon c...
Read More from Catherine Boeckmann

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Comments

<span>Nancy Westfall</span> Thu, 03/21/2019 - 10:25
I use both lemon and vanilla.
<span>Lisa Behr</span> Wed, 12/05/2018 - 15:56
This is the recipe that my mother used every year for her Christmas cookies. I continued the tradition and passed it on to my daughter. How delightful to see this featured here. Thank you for a wonderful memory.
<span>Sherrie</span> Tue, 12/25/2018 - 06:09
My made them every year around Christmas time. The best cookies ever. But used Maple extract instead of lemon. Super Tasty with colorful sugars on top.
<span>Blue</span> Wed, 12/05/2018 - 09:51
What is the history of this recipe-- who is Ethel?
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Wed, 12/05/2018 - 15:02

Hi, Blue. As you can see in the intro, these cookies were made by the woman who ran the Blaine House in Augusta, Maine. She borrowed it from Betty Crocker. After an extensive search (and a search of the original Betty Crocker cookbook) we have no answer as to who Ethel is. Most likely she was someone's mother, grandmother, or aunt and she made fabulous sugar cookies.

 <span>Samantha</span> Tue, 12/04/2018 - 13:01
Bought the book these came from in 1967 as a new wife without two nickles to rub together! Great little cookie book, which I gave to my own daughter several years ago. She had begged for it, so the year she married I sent it to her. This is the best sugar cookie recipe you can ever find! I still make them. No, I didn't re-copy the recipe, but bought a re-issued copy of the book which my son is now begging for. Guess it may become a present for him one of these years.
<span>Glenda</span> Sun, 11/26/2023 - 20:58
My mother used to bake Ethel's sugar cookies in the 1950s. I continue the tradition. I no longer roll dough out . I roll dough in a log , freeze, then slice and bake with different colored sugar as decoration on top. I have given the recipe out many times per request. Best recipe ever and you can add chocolate or mint chips, even crushed peppermint to dough.
<span>Pam Valencia</span> Tue, 11/20/2018 - 22:39
We got this recipe out of my mom’s big green cookbook over 50 years ago and have been cooking these awesome cookies every Christmas since. Not only are they fabulous cookies but it brings back so many memories of my mom and my own children....5 stars
<span>Teresa Mccomb …</span> Fri, 11/09/2018 - 13:02
I have been making this recipe out of my mother's cookbook for 50 years. The tradition is, upon the first snowfall...I bake my first batch of Christmas cookies. My cookbook is in Florida at our winter home. My mother was recently diagnosed with stage 4 lymphoma in her bones and is undergoing treatment in Michigan. Don't worry, the tradition will live on, and Mom will have her Christmas cookies tonight!
<span>Joann Rombough</span> Sun, 10/28/2018 - 15:23
I have used this recipe for over 50 years. I received the Betty Crocker Cookie Cookbook when I was about 12 years old and this is the only recipe I use for my cut out cookies. I still make cut outs for every holiday and sometimes in between. Great recipe.