Grandchildren LOLA, ABE, MAGGIE, and ELIZA(Lebanon, Tennessee) and ADDIE, ELENA, and CHLOE (Murfreesboro, Tennessee) say their Grana, ALISON FRANCESCA COLLIER (Mount Juliet, Tennessee), lets them help bake these delicious cookies and, of course, eat the dough and lick the bowl and spoons. One of their favorite things to do is have sleepovers at Grana and Poppy’s because the next morning usually means pancakes and chocolate milk. They each get to pick their favorite shape from her special box of cookie cutters, and when Grana cooks the pancakes, they make their cut-outs. They can all recite Grana’s “three important things to remember” when making the perfect cut-out—press, twist, and pull! Grana is also teaching them to trust in the Lord, as He knows all and sees all. She hopes they will always try to look for the good in people and be kind.
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 large egg
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (18.25 ounce) box yellow cake mix
¼ cup powdered sugar
1 Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2 In a large bowl use a hand mixer to cream together the cream cheese and butter. Stir in the egg and vanilla. Add the dry cake mix. Stir until all the ingredients are well blended.
3 Spray your hands with cooking spray and roll the dough into 1-inch balls. Roll the balls in the powdered sugar and place 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
4 Bake for 10 to 13 minutes until lightly browned on the bottom. Leave the cookies on the cookie sheet to cool on a wire rack. Once the cookies have cooled, remove them from the cookie sheet.
MAKES APPROXIMATELY 4 DOZEN COOKIES.
NOTE: It’s very important to keep your hands sprayed with cooking spray to keep the dough from sticking to your fingers. You can also try this same recipe with any flavor of cake mix and added flavoring to give the cookies a little zest!