Butter Cookies
December 26, 2007 by Nicki
This is probably my brother’s and my husband’s favorite holiday treat! My grandmother used to be a lunchroom worker (aka “lunchroom lady”) at Dixie Junior High (Alabama). This is one of the recipes that she used for years, then my mother used for years, and now I am continuing the tradition.
This is a photo of the sheet of paper that my mother has bearing this recipe:
As you can see, there are some conversions out to the right-hand side, those are what my mother uses for a “home-sized batch”. (I believe the larger measurements were for when they were making them at the school)
Little by little, I’m trying to get digital copies of the recipes that my mother has that I love …
Recipe Source: Dixie Junior High School lunchroom, by way of my grandmother
Ingredients:
1 cup butter/margarine
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1-1/3 teaspoons vanilla (I use 1-1/2 teaspoons of REAL vanilla, but use your best judgment for your taste!)
2-2/3 cups all-purpose flour
Sprinkles, nonpareils, and any other desired cookie decorations (optional)
Directions:
Mix sugar and butter until well-blended. Add egg and vanilla. Add flour slowly, a little at a time. Roll out onto a greased or non-stick cookie sheet. Decorate if desired, then bake 10-12 minutes at 375-400 degrees F until done — color will be a golden or light brown around the edges.
Hint: Check the bottom of a cookie to make sure they don’t burn!
Nicki’s Note:
It’s best to form about a 1″ ball and flatten a bit with your palm. My grandmother would use a fork to create ridges in the center of the cookie (for holding cookie decorations). Use your best judgment according to how or if you’ll be decorating. 
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Thank you very much for sharing this recipe. It came out fine.
I blended the butter and sugar for a good while before i added the anything
else. and that made the difference.
Thanks again
Thank you for sharing this recipe with me. I am 42 years and remember making sure every day in high school buty my lunchroom butter cookies.
I have yet 2 bake the cookies ,but I know beyond a shadow of a doubt this is it. The Chicago lunchroom cookie.
Infact their sold 4 in a pack for $2.50 or 2/$5.00 Yeah!!!!! their that good, in other words 8 cookies 4/$8.00 man O mannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn. Same goes 4 the peanut butter cookies as well.
Thanks for sharing this recipe. Its hard to find the exact taste as the one in high school. Haven’t found them since 1990’s.
Yummy!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks for posting this recipe my spouse and I had been searching for this recipe for many years and we grew up in da chi and those school cookies was the bomb and the school doughnuts was the bomb too
Thank you so much for this recipe…I haven’t made them yet, but I’ve been looking every where for the recipe and my friends thank you also, because we’ve been asking all around for the recipe.