Here are a collection of cookie recipes that S stole from her family box of goodies and secretly passed to me...

Banberry Tarts

[makes 100 (if 2.5" cutters are used)]
Filling

• 1 c chopped raisins
• 1 c sugar
• 1 c water
• 2 tsp corn starch or flour

Dough

• 2 c brown sugar
• 1 c shortening
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp baking soda dissolved in 1/2 c milk
• 2 tsp baking powder sifted with 4 c flour

1. Mix the ingredients for the filling. Boil until thickens and let cool.
2. For the dough, beat the brown sugar with shortening, then add the eggs and beat well.
3. Alternately add to the dough the last two ingredients.
4. (optional) Chill dough (to make rolling easier).
5. Sprinkle flour on board and roll dough until paper thin
6. Cut with circular cutter: half of the rounds are bottoms and the other half are tops. Pair them up.
7. Fill each cookie with 1 tsp filling (put the filling on the bottoms).
8. Put on cover and press down edges.
9. Bake at 350 deg for 10 to 15 min.

Orange Sugar Cookies

[makes (unknown)]

• 2/3 c shortening
• 3/4 c sugar
• 1/2 tsp finely grated orange rind
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 4 tsp milk
• 2 c sifted flour
• 1/4 tsp salt

1. Preheat oven to 375
2. Cream shortening and sugar, add vanilla and egg and beat until light and fluffy
3. Stir in milk
4. Sift together dry ingredients
5. Blend into wet mixture. [DON'T HANDLE TOO MUCH, OR DOUGH BECOMES TOUGH]
6. Divide dough in halves, chill at least 1 hour
7. Roll on lightly floured surface no thinner than 1/8"
8. Cut with cookie cutters
9. Use floured spatula to lift cookies onto greased cookie sheet
10. (optional) sprinkle with colored sugar for decoration
11. bake 6-8 min or until the edges just begin to turn brown
12. Cool slightly before removing from pan

East Hampton Soft Molasses Cookies

[makes (unknown)]

• 1 c molasses
• 1/2 c shortening
• 1/2 c sugar
• 1/2 c evaporated milk soured with 1 tsp vinegar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 3/4 tsp baking soda
• pinch of salt
• 3 to 3 1/2 c sifted flour
• 3 tbsp sugar

1. Mix first 8 ingredients in order, stir in flour until mixture is stiff enough to hold spoon upright.
2. Drop from teaspoon to greased, floured sheets, 1.5" apart.
3. Flatten with a tumbler wrapped in a wet dishcloth.
4. Sprinkle with sugar.
5. Bake at 375 deg for 10 min.

Pecan Tassies

[makes (unknown)]
Shell

• 3 oz cream cheese
• 1/2 c butter
• 1 c sifted flour

Filling

• 1 egg
• 3/4 c brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• dash of salt
• 1 tbsp soft butter
• 3/4 c broken pecans

1. Cream together cream cheese + butter. Then add flour and mix.
2. Chill 1 hour.
3. Shape into 1" balls, place balls in 1 3/4" muffin tins, press into tins to make shallow tart shells, thicker on bottom than sides.
4. Line shells with half of the nuts.
5. Beat other filling ingredients (egg, sugar, extract, salt, butter) just until smooth.
6. Fill tar shells, and top with remaining pecans.
7. Bake 25 minutes at 375 deg or until golden brown. Cool and remove from pans.

Mom's Peanut Butter Cookies

[makes about 3 dozen]

• 1/2 c shortening
• 1/2 c peanut butter
• 1/2 c sugar
• 1/2 c firm packed brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1 to 1 1/4 c sifted flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder

1. Cream shortening and peanut butter.
2. Add sugars, flavoring, and egg, beat until light.
3. Add sifted dry ingredients, mix well.
4. Shape into 3/4" balls, place on greased cookie sheets, press flat with tines of fork.
5. Bake in 375 deg oven for 10 to 12 min.

Thumbprint Cookies

[makes 24 - 40, depending on your thumb-size]

• 1 stick butter
• 1/4 c sugar
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1/2 tsp almond extract or vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 c flour
• 1/2 c jam/jelly/preserve

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Cream butter + sugar until fluffy and light
3. Add egg + extract, mix until blended
4. Slowly knead/mix in flour until blended
5. (optional) add some cocoa powder if you want chocolate flavored cookies
6. Separate the dough into small pieces, each somewhere between 1 tsp and 1 tbsp in size.
7. Roll the pieces into balls, place on cookie sheet about 2" apart.
8. Press and indent the cookies with thumb to make cups for jam
9. Fill the "cup" with small amount of jam (not enough to overflow). If, when indenting, the edge cracks, try to reshape the dough to fill in the crack so the indentation can hold a decent amount of jam.
10. Bake 12 min or until the bottoms of the cookies turn golden brown.