Day 18 and Day 19 Cookies - Cinnamon,cookies and Sugar Cookies

Today in NOTL:  Cold, with noon temps at 22F/ -5C. Breezy but not bad!  Cloudy skies with snowsqualls possible overnight.

Here is a recipe the school cafeteria lady gave me for sugar cookies.  It makes a lot of cookies, so you know that that means!  VARIATIONS!  
Sugar Cookies
3 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups shortening
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk (we used whole milk)
6 teaspoons vanilla
6 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
9 cups flour

Cream sugar, shortening, eggs and vanilla together.

In separate bowl, sift together flour, salt and baking powder. Add to cream mixture, alternating
with the milk (you may have to add a little more flour for stiffness). Refrigerate 3 to 4 hours or
overnight.

Take small amount of dough from refrigerator and roll in flour, then roll to desired thickness -- cut
with cookie cutter (Taylor likes her sugar cookies thick, rolling the dough out to about 1/4 inch, so
we did the same).

Bake at 375 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes. Bottoms of cookies should be lightly brown. Makes
about 6 to 7 dozen, depending on size of cookie cutters.

Icing

1 cup shortening
2 teaspoons almond flavoring
4 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk

Cream shortening and milk together. Add powdered sugar and beat till smooth. Add almond
flavoring. Ice and decorate as desired.

Vary the cookies by using different frosting some, drizzling with chocolate on others, dipping, adding sprinkles or nuts or coconut, etc.  Also, try different add-ins in portions of dough - adding cherries and cherry juice to one batch, chocolate to another, orange or lemon zest with extract to a third, etc.  There's enough dough here to have a cookie factory on your kitchen table!

Here's another cookie, since yesterday I was down with a cold:

Cinnabites

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup walnuts -- chopped
1 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350*
1.  Cream butter and sugar, add egg.
2.  Mix in dry ingredients, stir in nuts and raisins.
3.  Drop by spoonfuls on cookie sheet sprayed with coating.
4.  Bake 10-12 minutes till golden brown.