COOKIE TRAY DISPLAY RECIPES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, place the butter and powdered sugar; cream them together.
• Add the eggs and beat well. Beat in the vanilla.
• Add the baking powder, salt, and cream of tartar plus half the flour. Mix lightly to moisten flour, then add in the remaining flour. Mix together well, the dough will be stiff.
• Divide dough into 4 sections, flatten into disks, wrap each in plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.
• Preheat oven to 375 F degrees. Prepare baking sheets with parchment paper or non-stick silicone liner.
• Remove dough one disk at a time from refrigerator, keeping unused portions refrigerated. Sprinkle board lightly with powdered sugar. Roll dough thinly, 1/8 inch or less. (I run the edge of a thin metal spatula under the corner of the dough; if the spatula can be seen through it, the dough's the thickness I want. Leave the dough out at room temperature for several minutes if you are having difficulty rolling cold dough.
• Cut out using cookie cutters in chosen shapes and decorate, if desired, by sprinkling with colored sugar or press a walnut or pecan half in the center. These cookies do not really spread, so you can place them somewhat close together on the sheet. Use a thin metal spatula to transfer the fragile dough from the board to the baking sheet.
• Bake for 5 to 7 minutes, depending on your oven and the thickness of your cookies. Let cool several minutes on the baking sheet to firm up before removing to a cooling rack. Store in an air-tight container.