oil is the key. My Mother made these when I was a child.... lots of years ago, so this recipe is old. There may be another oil you could use, but I don't know what it is.

Butter Sugar Cookies

Makes 10 doz

1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup butter
1 cup Crisco Oil (use Crisco Oil!)
2 eggs
1 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. nutmeg * could substitute here with other spice or peel
4 cups flour

Mix in order listed. Chill 1 hour or overnight. Roll in balls; press flat with flat bottomed glass dipped in sugar. Bake 10 minutes in 375º oven.

Note: the thinner you press them the crisper they'll be.
PS: They don't roll-out at all.... way too soft a dough.

I agree butter.....and no levening...
But the recipe above with the added oil could work....just make sure it's a very short dough.

This recipe for sugar cookies was developed by Stella Parks a/k/a BraveTart. I follow it to the letter. When she originally published it on her blog, she went through a long explanation about the importance of the temperature of the butter. I check the temperature of the butter with a Thermapen and when it hits 60 degrees, I go to work. I also measure out 1 oz balls of dough on my scale. Good luck!

I too use the same recipe as Ca Kate, my Mother’s recipe. I don’t use nutmeg, use a combo of vanilla and almond. Press thin for crispness. And they freeze well. I use a cookie stamp to press flat gives them a bit if design

Lizbeth, your question made me think of these from KIng Arthur. They really do kind of melt in your mouth.

Light-as-Air Sugar Cookies

Yields: 2 1/2 dozen cookies

Note: I used 1 1/4 tsp. of vanilla since I'm not that fond of almond flavoring. The original recipe didn't include the lemon zest, but I'm a lemon lover.

1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 stick unsalted butter (I used salted)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. almond extract (or use all vanilla)
Optional: 1 tablespoon lemon zest
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, cream together the sugars, butter, and oil until smooth & light-colored.

Beat in the egg, vanilla and almond extracts, zest (if using), salt, and baking powder, then mix in the flour. Dough will be slightly sticky. Cover and chill the dough for at least 2 hours for easier handling.

Roll the dough into 1-inch balls (see *Note below) and place them on the prepared baking sheets. Using the bottom of a drinking glass dipped in granulated sugar (press bottom of glass into dough, then sugar), flatten the balls to no thicker than 1/4 inch thick.

Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes until they’re a very light brown around the edges.

These will be even better the next day, or wait until they’re fully cooled—while still warm they don’t have the great crunch.

*Note: I make the balls of dough closer to 1 1/2" which yields a few less cookies.

Thanks for all of your responses!

Pillog, I will ask, but not expecting anything helpful to come from asking. Your other tips are noted.

CA Kate z9 & Shirl36: Recipe sounds good, but it says it is too soft to roll. These were rolled, cutout cookies and what I want to make with the grands for holidays. Sorry I didn't mention that.

chloebud: Your's sounds good, too, but can I roll these?

bbstx: Your recipe says not to roll, but in reading all the comments and questions, Stella links to a recipe for rolled sugar cookies and also gives lots of tips on how to make them turnout nicely and also tells how to really keep a nice white color like these were. I'm anxious to try her recipe, but want to wait till I get the recipe from my friend and that may be a couple of weeks. Thanks!

Lizbeth, no, my recipe will not roll, but I bought some forms in a sheet pan that I thougth to try next time I make these cookies. I thought I might press the dough into the forms. ???

Lizbeth, the dough is fairly sticky so not great for rolling.

Back in October I posted about accidentally adding extra oil to my pate brisee piecrusts and how tender and flaky they came out, so I can see how that could work for cookies.

I used extra virgin olive oil - which does not seem to influence the flavor, IMO.

& I always use nutmeg to lend a more buttery flavor to things.

In general, oil makes cookies spread. The eggs help keep them together. If you substitute oil for solid fat in a cookie with no eggs, you'll get a mess of slithy toves out of the oven. Adding a little bit of oil to a recipe with solid fat and egg shouldn't be an issue, and could be the secret Lizbeth is looking for. If you want to convert a butter recipe to oil, however, expect some wacky trial and error.

My Mom's Refrigerator Cookie recipe calls for 3/4 cup shortening for the fat. I just made a batch using 1/2 cup real butter and 1/4 cup shortening. I was afraid they would spread but they still came out looking good and fairly crisp. Being not a real big fan of shortening I'm thrilled with the results!

Butter and veg shortening act differently in the oven because they have different sized fat globules which melt at different temperatures, so there will be differences in texture, but you can interchange solid fats like butter, lard, margarine/baking sticks, and vegetable shortening 1 for 1 and still get a good outcome. Butter melts at a lower temperature, so could be spreadier, but mostly it's crisper, and more melt in your mouth. It's liquid oil that's the real whammy.

And what about the flour? I think that can make difference in texture as well...