March Madness

Basketball Sugar Cookie Recipe

Cookies:
3 cups flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup soft butter
1 egg, slightly beaten
3 tbsp cream
1 tsp vanilla

Icing:
1/3 cup Crisco (transfat-free) or a 1/3 cup of softened butter
1 pound of confectioners sugar
1/4 cup of milk
1 teaspoon of vanilla

Directions:
Sift dry ingredients, cut in butter and add other ingredients. Blend thoroughly; chill for several hours.

Break off a piece of dough the size of an orange and pat it flat in your hand. Using a rolling pin, roll on dough on floured board (best to use a 2/1 ration of flour/sugar - 4 Tbsp flour mixed with 2 Tbsp sugar) or between wax paper. (It helps if you flour both sides of the dought.) Roll out to about a 1/4 inch thickness. Cut out and put on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 5-8 minutes at 400. Remove the cookies from the oven as soon as you see them turning color at the base of the cookie. Let cool completely.

Mix icing ingredients together until smooth. Add yellow and red food coloring (according to package directions) to achieve orange basketball color. Spread on cookies with a butter knife, and use black writing icing (bought in package of its own at grocery store) to make the lines on the basketballs.

Makes 5 dozen cookies.

Serve while watching March Madness!!!