Best Rolled Sugar Cookies

This is the recipe Jen used for the cookie decorating meet-up. See the recipe for the icing below. Enjoy!


Ingredients

* 1 1/2 cups butter, softened
* 2 cups white sugar
* 4 eggs
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 5 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely.

Sugar Cookie Icing

For those of you who came to Jen's cookie decorating meet-up, here is the recipe we used for the icing. It has a nice flavor and leaves a pretty shine when it dries!


Ingredients

* 1 cup confectioners' sugar
* 2 teaspoons milk
* 2 teaspoons light corn syrup
* 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
* assorted food coloring

Directions

1. In a small bowl, stir together confectioners' sugar and milk until smooth. Beat in corn syrup and almond extract until icing is smooth and glossy. If icing is too thick, add more corn syrup.
2. Divide into separate bowls, and add food colorings to each to desired intensity. Dip cookies, or paint them with a brush.

Lisa's Bacon-ated Chili

This is the best chili I have ever had! I took a recipe from recipezaar and changed it quite a bit, creating a delicious and hearty meal. Of course, the secret ingredient is bacon. It adds a nice smoky flavor to the chili. It makes a LOT so be sure and have lots of guests or room in the freezer for leftovers!


Ingredients

* 1 lb bacon, cut up in small pieces
* 4 lbs ground beef
* 1 can kidney beans
* 1 can red beans
* 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
* 12 ounces tomato paste
* 2 onions, finely chopped
* 2 T. chili powder
* 2 t. cayenne pepper (dry powder)
* 2 (15 ounce) cans beef broth
* 2 fresh tomatoes
* 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
* 3 garlic cloves
* 1 tablespoon ground cumin
* 1 tablespoon oregano
* 1 1/2 tablespoons paprika
* 1 T. salt

Directions

1. Brown bacon and ground beef, drain, and add to crockpot.
2. Add beans, crushed tomatoes,tomato paste, onions, chili powder, cayenne pepper, salt, and beef broth in the crockpot.
3. Puree jalapeno, garlic and tomatoes in food processor, then add to crockpot.
4. Stir all ingredients, then cook 10-12 hrs on low, or 5-6 hrs on high.