Bananas.org - Soft Sugar Cookies

These are one of our favorites, just in time for Christmas. They are so soft and tasty (and easy)and they taste like those "tea cookies" you see for sale in bakeries and Walmart.

2/3 cup shortening (can use butter flavor or regular)
2/3 cup butter or margarine
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
granulated sugar for decoration, or white cake icing, sprinkles, etc.

Cream together the shortening, butter, and sugar. Add eggs one at a time. Add vanilla. Mix well.
In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the flour to the wet ingredients and stir well until it makes a nice dough.
Use a cookie scoop or teaspoon to scoop out dough. Roll it into balls. You can roll the balls in sugar (colored or white) and then flatten slightly and place on the cookie sheet, or you can bake them plain and then put icing and sprinkles, if you like. Place the cookies about 2" apart on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. You want to take the cookies out while they still look slightly underbaked and let them firm up while they cool on the cookie sheet for the softest texture. That is 10 minutes in my oven but yours might be just a little different. Cooking them on parchment paper is great. Cool on wire racks and decorate as desired.
We really like these with icing and just a few sprinkles on top.
this makes about 2.5-3 dozen if you use a regular sized cookie scoop.