The only change I have to this recipe, is that my original one from the 1940's has baking powder not baking soda. We use this as a all purpose Christmas Cookie Dough. They are great covered with sugar, icing or plain. They also taste great rolled into balls with chopped walnuts, and then rolled in powdered sugar. We call them snowballs. We make balls and coat them with green tinted walnuts or pecans. We place a thumbprint in the middle. After baking, we add a dollop of jelly and they look like cute Christmas Wreaths.

I have my mother-in-laws paper recipe for this cookie from a long time ago, and it calls for baking powder, not baking soda. Otherwise, it is identical. These are the cookies she always made at Christmas, and we now make to carry on the tradition. My husband's favorite and a trip down memory lane.

I have been making these butter cookies since I got this recipe in the late 1960 out of a little booklet. My family love them I still can't visit my nephews at Christmas with out them. I make 32 dozen for the last 30 years.

My mother's Pillsbury recipe booklet from the 1950s or 1960s also reported using baking powder instead of baking soda and the entire family LOVED the cookies with that recipe!! I'd like to know why this online recipe changed to baking soda. Would love to test both recipes side-by-side.