Half Moon Cookies - cooking recipe

Ingredients

Cookies
1 cup milk, plus
1 teaspoon vinegar
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup shortening
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
Frosting
4 cups confectioners' sugar
1 cup shortening
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 dash salt
water
icing, colors*
Optional
2 tablespoons baking cocoa, to make chocolate cookies

Preparation

Cookies:
Mix the milk and vinegar together first and then set aside while you get the rest of the ingredients together.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and the baking cocoa (optional). Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, cream together the shortening and the eggs. Add the vanilla and then slowly add in the sugar. Mix well. Slowly (and carefully) add in about 1/3 of the flour mixture. Next, add in the milk. Continue adding the flour mixture and mix well.
The cookie dough should be placed on the cookie sheet in about 1-2 tablespoons rounded amounts. I like to use a large ice cream
scoop for these cookies. You then get perfect circles and equal amounts every time. Place at least 4 inches apart as the cookies will spread. Use either a non-stick cookie sheet or grease a baking pan to bake the cookies on.
Bake for 8-10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let them set for 5 minutes on the cookie sheets. Then, remove the cookies from the cookie sheets and place, inverted, on a cooling rack.
After they are completely cool, frost the flat bottoms of the cookies with half of one color and half of another. Do not overlap the colors. Instead let the two colors meet in the middle of the cookie.
Frosting:
Cream together the shortening, vanilla, and about 2 tablespoons of water in a large mixing bowl. Add in the confectionary sugar slowly. Add water, a teaspoon at a time, to reach desired consistency. The frosting should be thinned just enough to make it easy to.
spread. Allow to mix at medium speed for 5
minutes. This will ensure a smooth, creamy frosting that will rival any frosting that you might taste in a bakery.
Place half of the frosting in a second bowl and then color the two frostings the needed colors.
Tips:
For brown frosting: Add baking cocoa to the frosting when you add the confectionary sugar to the mixing bowl.
For black frosting: start with chocolate frosting. It will save you adding a lot of black coloring.
If you are using Wilton colors, realize that the colors will darken within a few hours as they dry. Therefore, make the colors
slightly lighter than you want them to be.
Be sure to make enough colored frosting for as many cookies as you will be making. It's almost impossible to match a second batch of colored frosting exactly to the first.
* I prefer to use Wilton icing colors. They are concentrated and will not make your frosting too liquidy. Plus, they come in
many different colors. You can find Wilton colors in any store that carries cake decorating products. If you would like though you can use the liquid colors that.
you find at the grocery store.
Note: If you will not be needing white frosting you can use 1/2 cup of shortening and 1/2 cup of butter. By doing so, the
frosting will be slightly yellow in color.