(Makes 48)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
4 ozs. butter, room temperature (1 stick)
1/2 cup shortening
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. other flavoring (optional)
1/4 tsp. salt
2 cups flour, stirred to fluff before measuring
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cream of tartar
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees
Combine the salt, flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar. Cream the sugars, butter, and shortening. Add the egg, vanilla, and other flavoring. Mix the flour into the creamed mixture. Form the dough into balls the size of half walnuts. Place these on an ungreased baking sheet or dip the top half in water and then into granulated sugar first. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Careful, these burn easily. Cool on a rack.
You can make these all butter cookies if you want. Just swap butter for shortening. Shortening is 100% fat. Butter is about 80 % fat plus milk solids and water, so it will change the texture and flavor slightly. You can do a little kitchen math if you want to get a particular result. You can’t do this swap for piecrust though.
