Plain Cookies

A rolled sugar cookie of the old school, where the cook was expected to judge the flour by feel rather than by measure. The written amounts are a starting point, not a formula.

• Moderate ovenSet the oven to 350F. "Pale brown" means the edges barely colour and the centres still look matte; 8 to 10 minutes for a thin cookie.
• The flour is undeclaredOne cupful with the baking powder is only the leavened portion. With 1/2 cup butter, 1-1/2 cups sugar, 2 eggs and a full cup of water, a rollable dough will take something in the range of 4 to 5 cups of flour in total. The original leaves the figure to the cook's hand, and there is no honest way to pin it down.
• CupfulIn American books of this period a cupful is normally the half-pint, 8 fluid ounces, the same as a modern measuring cup, though measures were not wholly uniform from book to book. Butter at 1/2 cupful is 4 oz, one stick.
• Why the waterWater was the cheaper liquid, and it thins the batter enough that a large quantity of flour can be worked in evenly. Substituting milk will tend to give a softer, cakier cookie.
• Chill before rollingA soft dough of this kind handles far better after an hour in the refrigerator. Roll about 1/4 inch thick on a lightly floured board, and reflour sparingly or the scraps turn tough.
• NutmegA whole teaspoon of freshly grated nutmeg is assertive by modern standards but correct here; pre-ground nutmeg is weaker and staler, so use the whole spice and a fine grater.
• YieldExpect roughly five to six dozen cookies from a 2-1/2 inch cutter. Baked pale, they keep a week in a tin and were meant to.