I am so very sorry it took me this long to get you the soft sugar cookie recipe. These are just like the ones you can buy in a supermarket: soft, bland and loved by kids. Soft Sugar Cookies for a crowd 1 cup butter 2 cups sugar 2 eggs 2 tsp vanilla 1 cup milk 4 tsp. baking powder 6 cups flour 1 tsp. salt Cream the butter and the sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Alternate milk and the flour mixture to the batter. Refrigerate before rolling out dough. (I roll out onto parchment paper so I don't have to add more than a sprinkling of extra flour). Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. When cool, ice with your favorite icing and decorations. (My MIL notes here "Uf bitm the cookies are horrible!") My kids adored these cookies and they are very spoiled about homemade goodies.

--Palm sugar is a low-glycemic sugar made from the sap of the Palmyra palm tree. It works like sugar in cooking and baking and has a caramel-like flavor, and is a tawny brown color. I order it on-line from several different places (currently using NAVITAS organic palm sugar). You might want to check with your health care professional before using this. I have several friends with diabetes who can't use Splenda (one friend ends up in the hospital each time she is unknowingly served Splenda) and use palm sugar in moderation without any problem. But each person is different. --Another sugar substitute I've been trying is SWERVE (made from Erythritol). This product is safe for diabetics. --Almond flour is made from ground almonds. It is high in protein (6 g. per 28 g. serving) and low in carbohydrates (6 g. per 28 g. serving). I purchase it in 5-pound bags from Honeyville Grain Farms (http://store.honeyvillegrain.com/blanchedalmondflour5lb.aspx), but I also sprout and dry whole almonds and grind my own in my little Wonder Mill, Jr., as well as using almond pulp leftover from homemade almond milk I make. I dry the pulp in the dehydrator or use it moist. I make cookies, crackers, and there is even a recipe for Almond Pulp Freezer Fudge I'm going to try. Check out Elana Amsterdam's web site (www.elanaspantry.com) for recipes using almond flour. I've about worn out her cookbook "The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook". She uses agave nectar in most of her recipes, and that's another low-glycemic sweetener you may want to check with your health care professional before using it. --Coconut Flour is a high fiber, low-carb, gluten-free alternative to wheat. You can find lots of recipes using it on-line and I love the book by Bruce Fife, N.D. "Cooking with Coconut Flour". Most of the recipes can be made with alternative sweeteners. Diabetes is rampant in hubby's family, so I work hard at making foods that will hopefully help prevent him from ever getting it. We don't do without our favorite goodies, I just make them with different ingredients. -Grainlady

This is the recipe that I always use and it only calls for 1/2 tsp of baking powder. You mix it like a pie crust and they are very nice. Sugar Cookies 3c flour 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp baking soda 1 c butter or margarine pinch of salt Mix all together like piecrust dough cutting the butter into the dry ingredients. Then add: 1 c sugar 2 beaten eggs 1 tsp vanilla. Chill dough. Preheat oven to 375°, roll and cut cookies. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet for 6-8 minutes. I always double this recipe and then frost and decorate. RL`

Dawnp, you are so right! For years I searched for the perfect sugar cookie recipe. I found it, but it's really only perfect when I roll it thick and DON'T OVER BAKE THE COOKIES! Buttercream frosting is what I use too, but I've never added any salt - I'll try it next time! With grandkids and a huge investment in cookie cutters, I make sugar cookies almost every holiday. They have become expected! Here's my PERFECT SUGAR COOKIE recipe - it's a little different/more complicated, but worth the effort! 3 eggs 1 cup melted margarine 1 cup sugar 2 tsp. vanilla 2 T baking powder 4 cups flour 1/4 tsp. salt Beat whites till stiff. Beat yolks till creamy. Combine gently. Add melted margarine, sugar and vanilla. Beat. Sift dry ingredients together and work in. Chill. Roll 1/4-3/4" thick and cut. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet until JUST DONE on bottem. Remove from pan, cool, and frost. These cookies are very good for cutting. They produce a thick, cake-like texture with a butter flavor. ENJOY!