Grandma's Sugar Cookies

This is my Grandmother's recipe.  I grew up eating these cookies whenever anyone in my family made them.  At Christmas we frosted them and the rest of the year they were sprinkled with nutmeg and sugar before they were baked.  The sugar topping tastes great and is extra easy if you don't have time to frost. 

Cookies:

• 1 cup butter

• 1 cup sugar

• 3 eggs

• 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla

• 3 cups flour

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• ½ teaspoon salt

• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar

Cream sugar and butter together in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Add eggs and vanilla and mix. Add dry ingredients to the bowl. Mix until a dough forms. Place cookie dough into a covered container and chill for several hours, or overnight. When ready roll out half of the dough on a lightly floured surface to about 3/16 inch thick, and cut out shapes with cookie cutters. Place onto a greased cookie sheet. Sprinkle each cookie with nutmeg sugar topping. Continue process with other half of the dough. Bake at 350º for 10 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Topping:

• ½ cup sugar

• 1 teaspoon nutmeg

Mix topping ingredients together and set aside.

If you don't want to roll out the dough, omit the chilling step. Drop tablespoon-sized scoops of dough onto a prepared cookie sheet. Rub the bottom of a drinking glass with a small amount of butter (first cookie only). Then dip into the topping mixture, and press the cookies to make them flat. Repeat for all cookies. Cook at 350º for 10 minutes.