Sugar, sugar

The weekend commenced with plenty of baking, and plenty of cookies to show for it. I always, always have to make "Jimmies" (as my husband dubbed them when we married). I've been making these since I was in junior high school. Every year. That's a lot of cookie dough--but I do love it. Everybody always thinks it's a sugar cookie, but it's really a butter cookie with sugary icing. Makes all the difference in the world.

Here's the recipe just in case you're not in sugar-overload just yet:

Jimmies

1 cup (2 sticks) oleo (yes, I use oleo, Blue Bonnet, thank you)
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon vanilla extract (the real stuff, not imitation)
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

Cream the butter (oleo) and sugar together until creamy and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla, blend well. Add the flour. The dough should come together in a big ball or mass of dough.

Place in plastic wrap (I shape it into a thick frisbee shape) and chill at least 2 hours or up to 3 days.

Roll out half of dough at a time, use favorite cookie cutters to make shapes, place on un-greased baking sheet, and bake at 350 degrees about 10 to 12 minutes or until just turning golden around the edges. Remove from oven and let cool completely before icing.

Jimmies icing

1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 to 2 tablspoons water
food coloring

Mix together in a bowl, add one food color. Repeat recipe for additional colors. I usually make red, green, yellow, and off-white. Ice!

Depending on the size cookie cutter you use, you can get anywhere from 4 to 6 dozen cookies from one batch. I made two batches and got about 12 dozen.

These cookies do great just left out on a platter for about 4 or 5 days, after that the icing will begin to dry out a bit, but they taste just as good. I usually mix up a couple of batches one evening and then bake and ice them another evening. I also made a couple of refridgerator cookies from Martha Stewart that are so easy and good! They're called Lime Meltaways, but I make them in lime and orange, yummy!

Then in the latest issue of Everyday Food, there's a 'Marvelous Marschino Mini Pound-Cake' recipe. It's actually an ad by www.cherrymkt.org, but it looked good! Makes six (and I could've easily gotten seven) six-inch long mini-cakes. I don't use cherries much, so this was a nice change.

I'll probably make some kind of pie for Christmas day...not sure what kind yet. But that will just about wrap up the baking for this holiday!