Old cookies, I mean old fashioned cookies

Sometimes we bake cookies just to bake cookies - honest it happens. Who needs a reason? We made these cookies and opted to make a half batch. Just because we feel like baking cookies doesn't mean we should make 9 dozen cookies - whoa! These cookies were a team effort. The kids traded off smashing and adding sprinkles. They are an old fashion recipe that clearly has stood the test of time. Bronwyn has been having one each day as a snack for lunch - a baked good she can get behind... that's a keeper!

Heirloom Sugar Cookies
Makes 8-9 dozen
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar, plus extra for flattening the cookies
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract or vanilla paste
5 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon fine sea salt

Preheat the oven to 350°F and position your oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking liners or parchment paper.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, soda, cream of tartar, and salt and set aside.
In a large glass measuring cup or similar vessel, whisk together the oil, eggs and vanilla until well-combined and set that aside as well.
In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or with an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugars on medium speed until fluffy and pale in color, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl every so often. Reduce the mixer speed and gradually pour in the oil and egg mixture, beating until the resulting mixer is smooth and somewhat uniform in texture, like a thin cake batter. Stop the mixer, and in three batches, add the dry ingredients, mixing on low speed and scraping the bowl before each addition. Mix on low speed until all the dry ingredients are incorporated. The dough will be very soft.
To form the cookies, roll walnut-sized balls of the dough (depending on my mood and how many cookies I need, I use either my 1 tablespoon or 2 tablespoon-sized cookie scoop) and place on the prepared baking sheets, one dozen to a sheet. Pour about 1/2 cup of granulated sugar (or vanilla sugar) onto a plate. Ever so slightly dampen the bottom of a drinking glass with water on your fingertips, dip it into the sugar to coat the bottom of the glass and flatten each cookie to about 1/4 inch thickness, dipping the glass with more sugar in between each cookie (you should only need to dampen the glass with water at the beginning of the process; the butter from the dough will keep the glass a bit sticky after that).
Sprinkle the flattened cookies with coarse rainbow colored sugar or other decorative sugars. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back about halfway through, until pale golden and just beginning to turn golden brown at the edges--don't overbake. Cool on the baking sheets for two minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely before storing or serving.