It’s so hard for someone who is strapped for cash to “give back” to a person of means, but Lucy’s heartfelt effort to make frosted sugar cookies for Sam showed her desire to move beyond their past difficulties. Homemade cookies are a great conversation starter!
(This recipe is adapted from an old Betty Crocker recipe the author used growing up and has used ever since!)
LUCY’S SUGAR COOKIES
3 cups powdered sugar
2 cups butter, softened
2 large eggs
3 teaspoons almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
Blend sugar, butter, and eggs together until smooth and fluffy. Mix in extracts. Add flour and baking soda and mix thoroughly.
Roll out one-half of dough on flour-dusted table to about ¼-inch thickness. For softer, chewier cookies, don’t roll too thin. Cut out shapes and place on cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 7 to 9 minutes, until edges just start to hint “gold.” Let sit on cookie sheet for a few minutes before removing to finish cooling.
These tender, delicious cookies are then topped with old-fashioned butter icing, thinned slightly and flavored with almond and vanilla, the perfect pairing to the cookies.
LUCY’S BUTTER COOKIE ICING
1 stick butter, softened
4 cups powdered sugar
3 teaspoons almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup milk
Mix all ingredients in a large mixing bowl, then beat on high speed for several minutes. Add a little more milk (don’t thin too much; you want a slightly fuller frosting, more like cake frosting) and beat until frosting is the consistency you like.
Frost cookies and shake on sprinkles or sugar quickly before the icing firms up and your sprinkles all fall off!
The most delicious sugar cookies we’ve ever made…or eaten at the Double S Ranch.
LUCY’S SIMPLE MACARONI AND TUNA SALAD
Lots of folks have tight budgets these days, and this simple salad is great for those on a strict budget…and those who aren’t! A picnic pleaser, this is the kind of salad Lucy can bring to a summer barbecue and feel like she’s adding to the table without breaking the budget.
1 pound pasta, cooked al dente, drained and cooled quickly
2 cans white tuna, drained
¾ cup chopped celery
¾ cup chopped carrot
½ cup minced sweet onion
Mayonnaise
Salt and pepper to taste
Cook pasta in salted water according to directions. Don’t overcook. Drain pasta, rinse with cool water, drain well again.
Put pasta in a bowl with tuna, veggies, salt, and pepper. Add mayonnaise to desired moistness. (Pasta will rob mayo of some moistness while it sits in the fridge.) Garnish with parsley, and if fresh veggies are free in the garden, it’s a pretty touch to ring the top of the salad with grape or cherry tomatoes and sliced green pepper rounds.
Peace in the Valley Page 30