EILEEN SHERRILL (Peachtree City, Georgia) was born and raised in Port Arthur, Texas. She is known as Gran to her three grandchildren, for whom she’s created a number of handmade quilts. She is a retired kindergarten teacher who loves to share books and story time with the little ones. Grandson GRADY MASON’S (Nashville, Tennessee) mom and aunt love to cook and bake with Gran. It’s been a tradition for Gran to make these cookies every year for Christmas, as they were her father-in-law’s absolute favorites! Now Grady’s mom makes them and is proud that this treasured family favorite is being passed on to a new generation. The family affectionately calls the cookies “Grandpa’s Favorite Doodles” in honor of him. Grady looks forward to growing up and helping his Gran in the kitchen one day soon.
1 cup vegetable shortening
1 ½ cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided
2 large eggs
2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 In a large bowl use a hand mixer to cream together the shortening and 1 ½ cups of the sugar. Add the eggs and mix well.
2 In another large bowl sift together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. Add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Chill the dough for 60 minutes.
3 Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
4 Mix the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar and cinnamon together in a shallow dish. Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and roll them in the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place the balls on an ungreased cookie sheet 2 inches apart. Bake until barely brown but still soft, about 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and place the cookies on a wire rack to cool.
MAKES APPROXIMATELY 4 DOZEN COOKIES.
NOTE: Don’t overbake or the cookies will dry out.