Ingredients

  • 3 1/2 cups flour
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 (16 ounce) bag powdered sugar (equivalent of 2 boxes)
  • 1/2 cup butter (do not use margarine)
  • 1 tablespoon almond extract
  • 0.5 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk
  • food coloring
  • candy sprinkles

Method

  • Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt in bowl and set aside.
  • Cream butter sugar, egg and vanilla. Beat 2 minutes.
  • Add sour cream and beat well.
  • Add dry ingredient mix (flour, baking soda, and salt) and blend well.
  • Roll on floured board to desired thickness. (1/4 inch thick will create thick cookies that will stay moist for up to two weeks).
  • Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters.
  • Bake on greased cookie sheet at 325°F for 12 minutes.
  • Allow cookies to cool completely before decorating.
  • Pour bag of confectioner sugar into bowl.
  • Whisk the 1 stick butter (melted), 1 tbsp almond extract, and 1/2 can evaporated milk in separate bowl until well mixed.
  • Slowly blend into the powered sugar a bit at a time until the icing is a good consistency for decorating. Will not take the entire mixture.
  • Pour icing into smaller bowls and use food coloring to make icing into different colors.
  • Decorate with icing as desired.
  • Use remaining butter, almond, evap.milk mixture to freshen up the icing as it hardens over time. Re-heat the mixture in the microwave before adding to the icing. Add to the icing a few drops at a time until the icing becomes spreadable again. You may have to add more food coloring to freshen up the color.
  • Use sprinkles, candy, and a lot of imagination to decorate cookies.
  • Lay decorated cookies on wax paper to dry, it will take icing about 2 hours to firm onto cookie but once dry you can store them in an airtight container.