The Best Rolled Sugar Cookies

Ingredients: 

- 1 ½ 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) Cream together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least 1 hour (or overnight). 2) Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). 3) Lightly dust a work surface with flour. Roll out dough to 1/4 to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets. 4) Bake in the preheated oven until cookies are lightly browned, 6 to 8 minutes. Carefully transfer cookies to a wire rack and cool completely before decorating.

Creamy au Gratin Potatoes

Ingredients: 

- 4 medium russet potatoes, thinly sliced

- 1 medium onion, sliced into rings

- salt and ground black pepper to taste 

- 3 tablespoons butter

- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

- ½ teaspoon salt

- 2 cups milk

- 1 ½ cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions: 

1) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Butter a 1-quart casserole dish. 2) Layer 1/2 of the potatoes in the bottom of the prepared casserole dish; season with salt and pepper. Layer onion slices over top, then top with with remaining potatoes. Season again with salt and pepper. 3) Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Gradually whisk in flour and salt and cook, whisking constantly until raw flour flavor has cooked off, about 1 minute. Gradually add milk, about 1/4 cup at a time, whisking well after each addition to incorporate; the gradual addition and whisking of milk will help avoid lumps in your sauce. 4) Cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture has thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in cheese all at once; continue stirring until melted, 30 to 60 seconds. Pour cheese sauce over the potatoes, and cover the dish with aluminum foil. 5) Bake in the preheated oven until potatoes are tender and sauce is bubbly, about 1 1/2 hours.

Fudge

Ingredients: 

- 3 cups white sugar

- ¾ cup margarine

- ⅔ cup evaporated milk

- 1 (12 ounce) bag semisweet chocolate chips

- 1 (7 ounce) jar marshmallow cream

- 1 cup chopped walnuts

- 1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions: 

1) Grease a 9x13-inch pan. 2) Mix sugar, margarine, and evaporated milk in a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Bring mixture to a full boil and cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. 3) Remove from the heat and add chocolate chips; stir until chocolate chips are melted and mixture is thoroughly combined. Stir in marshmallow cream until incorporated. Mix in walnuts and vanilla. 4) Transfer fudge to the prepared pan and use an offset spatula to spread out and flatten. Let cool for at least 1 hour before cutting into squares.