First time I made this recipe I followed the instructions to a T, except for the shortening (I used butter flavored Crisco), they were delicious, but came out WAY too puffy for my taste. Next time I used half butter flavored Crisco and half margarine. Instead of using the margarine softened, I melted it since the dough was a little bit dry to work with. I added 1 tsp vanilla and 1/8 tsp almond extract in the sugar/shortening mixture to add more flavor. I reduced the baking soda and cream of tartar by half and that didn't affect at all the texture of the cookies, they came out with the perfect puffiness and with a much better taste!

Reviewed On: Aug. 29, 2009