Back to School Notes

It's back-to-school time for our children and grandchildren, which means at our house, it's also cookie baking time.
Sharing cookies and a glass of milk after school offers time to talk and relax together, to catch up on the news of the day.
Since no one is coming to our house after school these days, we send those first-day-of-school cookies to them. The Unites States Postal Service kindly provides flat-rate boxes which hold two big zip-loc bags of individually wrapped cookies and a little packing material. It's a long-distance way to celebrate the start of another school year.
Here's a good cookie recipe for serious students and the moms and grandmas who love them:

SUGAR COOKIES
1 ½ cups powdered sugar
1 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon almond extract (or lemon)
1 egg
2 ½ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
Cream powdered sugar and butter. Beat in vanilla, almond extract, and egg. Sift flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar together, and add, ½ cup at a time. Let dough rest 2 hours, preferably in refrigerator. Roll out on chilled surface and cut out cookies. Put them on a lightly greased cookie sheet; dust with sugar or cinnamon sugar if not icing. Bake at 375 degrees for 7-8 minutes. Makes 5 dozen cookies.