Sugar Cookies--Assembly Line Style

Every year in November the city of Reinbeck hosts a Holiday Season kick-off called 'Miracle on Main'. Businesses on Main Street stay open late, have open houses, and activities are planned for community members to participate in. There is story time at City Hall, ornament making, visits from Santa, wine tasting, chain saw ice sculptors, horse-drawn trolley rides, and other small town festivities.

Shannon's office was chosen this year to host the drawing for $50.00 in Reinbeck Bucks, to be spent in local businesses. We were told to expect high traffic through the office as town folk signed up.

We have an open house for Miracle on Main every year, serving cookies and hot apple cider. We chose not to serve drinks this year, mostly because it gets really messy. As I planned how many cookies to bake, I just couldn't decide how many to make.

I started out making six batches of Betty Crocker's Soft, No-Roll Sugar Cookies. I'll include the recipe at the end of the post. They're easy, and yummy. Later that evening I mixed up four more batches, just in case.

At 8:00 p.m. we were ready to start baking. These are the times a large family really comes in handy.

I manned the cookie dough scoop, and handed off to Alex.

Alex rolled them into nice little balls,

and passed them to Katie and Colton, who rolled them in sugar.

Jackson's job was to arrange them on cookie sheets, squish with a glass, then add red sugar sprinkles to the top.

Shannon was in charge of the ovens. He was baking three sheets at a time--two in the top oven, one in the bottom oven. Shannon was the photographer tonight, so we have no pictures of him.

Chase was in charge of removing the baked cookies from the sheets, cooling, then counting them as he packed them in tupperware.

Bryce was in charge of keeping Hudson off the kitchen table and keeping the guys up to the minute on the football game. Naomi helped here and there.

Two and a half hours later, we had scooped, rolled, sugared, squished, sprinkled, baked, cooled, tallied...........51 DOZEN cookies. Apparently Betty Crocker makes her cookies bigger than I do.

And we still had cookie dough in the fridge.

Friday morning I baked 14 dozen MORE sugar cookies. That's a total of 65 dozen cookies (780 cookies) , not counting those that broke or got a little too done along the way.

Needless to say, we had plenty of cookies. My mom made some cookies, too. We had tons of leftovers. They're all in my freezer now. Waiting for the next occasion to share.

Betty Crocker's Soft No-Roll Sugar Cookies

PREP: 20 min. CHILL: 2 hr. BAKE: 13-15 min per sheet
YIELD: About 3-1/2 dozen cookies

1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup butter or margarine, softened (I use butter)
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 large eggs
4-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar.

1. In large bowl, beat 1 cup granulated sugar, the powdered sugar, butter, oil, milk, vanilla and eggs with electric mixer on medium speed, or mix with a spoon. Stir in flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt. Cover and refrigerate about 2 hours or until firm.

2. Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

3. Shape dough into 1-1/2 inch balls. Place 1/2 cup granulated sugar in small bow. Roll balls in sugar. On ungreased cookie sheet, place balls about 3 inches apart. Press bottom of drinking glass on each ball until about 1/4 inch thick (I don't squish them quite this much). Sprinkle each cookie with a little additional sugar.

4. Bake 13 to 15 minutes or until set and edges just begin to turn brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.

As I posted this, I realized we did not get any pictures of the finished product. Oops.

"So your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine." Proverbs 3:10