Butterscotch Cookies

We call these butterscotch cookies in my family, but they don’t really involve butterscotch per se. They are a holiday tradition–great right out of the oven or later with the hot beverage of your choice.

2 cups brown sugar
1 cup butter
2 eggs, well beaten
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup nuts (I prefer walnuts)
4 cups (all-purpose) flour

Cream butter and sugar, add beaten eggs. Sift cream of tartar and soda with 1 cup flour. Mix well. Add vanillia, nuts, and rest of flour. Form dough into a roll–be sure to put flour on your hands first, or you’ll get cookie dough all over your hands! Wrap roll in wax paper; place in the refrigerator until the dough is stiff enough to hold its shape while cutting. Slice the dough into 1/4-inch thick cookies and bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

This recipe dates back at least five generations to my maternal great-great-grandmother who was a German Mennonite living in Nebraska. Today we’d call it a refrigerator cookie, but back then you formed the roll, left it covered on the back porch overnight, and baked in the morning!