Mom's Soft White Cookies

1 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup buttermilk
4 cups flour
41/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Cream shortening and sugar, add eggs, vanilla and beat well.
Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and stir in alternately with the buttermilk into the creamed mixture until it forms a soft ball. It may still be a bit sticky but that's okay, cover bowl with plastic wrap and put in fridge for an hour or more. This way the dough is easier to handle and you don't need as much flour to roll out.
Roll out to thickness desired.. I do approx 1/4" Cut with cookie cutter and place on pans.
Bake at 375 for 9 min. When cool ice them with icing.
Icing..mix icing sugar, softened butter, vanilla, red food coloring and milk till spreading consistency. (oops I didn't measure these amounts)

Yields: approx 5 doz.

I usually ice these cookies with a white icing. But on occasion I add red food coloring for a pretty appearance.
I got this recipe from my Mom, she baked them often. My mother in law also baked these for church bake sales and said they sold better if they had pink icing on them. So to test that theory I tried that at my garage/bake sale. I had some with white icing and some with pink and she was right! The ones with pink icing sold first!

Now I'm off to deliver cookies to my family!