Grandma's Christmas Cookies

We mixed, rolled, cut, baked, frosted and sprinkled 100 of them today. I predict they won't last through Sunday.

See for yourself how delicious they are:

2/3 cup margarine (1 stick and 3 tablespoons) – we prefer Imperial
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon grated orange peel or orange juice
2 cups flour (we prefer Gold Medal)
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons milk

Cream margarine and sugar. Add egg and beat well. Add vanilla and orange. Sift dry ingredients together. Alternate adding bits of the dry ingredients and the milk to the margarine/egg mixture, mixing thoroughly. It works best if you end with the dry ingredients.

Chill at least one hour. Roll as thin as you can and cut into your favorite cookie shapes. Flour your roller, roller cloth (if you have one) and cookie cutters often. Keep your extra dough cold.

Bake at 375º on an ungreased cookie sheet for 6–10 minutes. Don't let them get too brown. Cool on wire racks. Wash pans between bakings.

Frosting:
3/4 cup softened margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon (plus a little more) milk
1–2 cups powdered sugar

Mix margarine, vanilla and milk well. Sift in powdered sugar until you get a consistency thick enough to hold peaks. Add more milk if you go too far with the sugar. If you add food coloring, add a little more powdered sugar as well to keep the colored frosting from running.

Taste one. Try not to eat the whole batch.