Sugar cookies: Are we there yet? Not quite, but we’re gaining on it.

When Mountlake Terrace reader Shara Hall asked if Forum cooks could help her duplicate the sour cream cookies she and her grandmother made, wonderful things happened.

And are still happening, starting with this letter from frequent Forum helper-outer Jean Kroeze of Arlington.

“I didn’t look for sour cream cookie recipes until I saw what others had sent in,” she writes. “The ingredients and proportions in my old recipe are a little different. I don’t remember where I copied it from, but it is over 50 years old, because I was still in high school at the time.

“My family had a Guernsey milk cow who gave more milk than we could use and, of course, plenty of cream – even with six kids. I made the cookies as drop cookies, but I don’t see why you can’t follow Nancy Shamrock’s directions and chill the dough, roll out and cut as desired.”

And JoAnne Burklund of Camano Island tells us, “Just one more recipe that makes the richest and best-tasting sugar cookies yet, while being the easiest to make. But I confess that I haven’t tried the recipe from Peggy Abbott of Everett for the McCall’s old-fashioned sugar cookies yet.

“I have no idea where my mother acquired this recipe, but it was her favorite for cut-out and spritz cookies during the holidays.

“I use this recipe now for every occasion, instead of a regular sugar cookie recipe, because the dough has a wonderful flavor and rolls out like a dream. And, adding cocoa or squares of chocolate, plus more vanilla to the recipe, creates a great-tasting chocolate cookie, too.”

Switching subjects now, we hear from Pat Hollister of Arlington, “Here’s a recipe for a coleslaw-type salad that is similar to the ones folks were asking about earlier. My old cookbook calls this molded salad, and you can use sugar-free gelatin. It makes no difference to the taste.”

Jean Kroeze’s 50-year-old sour cream cookies

1/2cup butter, softened

11/4cups sugar

1egg

1/2teaspoon vanilla

1cup sour cream

3cups flour

1teaspoon baking soda

1/4teaspoon salt

1/2teaspoon baking powder

In mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Beat in egg and vanilla. Stir in sour cream, mixing lightly but thoroughly. Combine flour, baking soda, salt and baking powder; add to butter mixture and mix thoroughly. Drop from teaspoon onto lightly greased cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees about 10 minutes.

Mother’s cream-cheese sugar cookies

1cup butter, softened

1cup sugar

1package (3 ounces) cream cheese, softened

1egg yolk

21/2cups sifted flour

1/2teaspoon vanilla or 1/4 teaspoon almond flavoring, or both flavorings combined

In mixing bowl, cream butter, sugar and cream cheese; beat in egg yolk and flavoring, then flour. Chill dough at least 1 hour before rolling out or using cookie press. (Egg white can be brushed on dough before baking to adhere sprinkles.) Bake cookies at 375 degrees for 10 minutes.

Molded salad with pineapple and cabbage

1small package lemon or lime gelatin

1cup hot water

1/2cup cold water

1can (about 8 ounces) crushed pineapple, undrained

1cup shredded cabbage

1tablespoon vinegar

Turn gelatin into mixing bowl; add hot water and stir until dissolved. Stir in cold water, then stir in undrained pineapple, cabbage and vinegar. Turn into desired container/mold and refrigerate until set.

The next Forum will appear in Wednesday’s Time Out section.