You might like this:
MELTING MOMENTS
Cookies:
2 sticks (1/2 lb) butter, softened
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar
2/3 cup cornstarch
1 cup flour

Frosting:
4 TBL (1/2 stick) butter
2 cups confectioners' sugar
2 TBL lemon juice
Grated zest of 1 lemon

Cookies: Preheat oven to 325°. Cream the butter & sugar together until light. Whisk together the cornstarch & flour, add to the butter mixture & blend thoroughly. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets & bake 15-20 minutes. Cool & frost.~~
Frosting: cream the butter. Beat in the sugar alternately with the lemon juice & zest beginning & ending w/sugar.~~Superlatives

Thanks Ginger. Do you have any idea why my cookies are always hard? I made some molasses cookies that turned into bricks! My hubby said he thought he'd break his teeth on them. We put them in the microwave for a few seconds and this did soften them up, but I'd like to know what I'm doing that turns even my chocolate chip cookies to turn to bricks the next day~

Get an oven thermometer. The temperature might be lower than you think or else maybe there's too much flour in the recipe. Maybe you're baking them too long or you might not have had enough butter in them. Try taking them out of the oven a minute or two sooner than you have been. You've probably just overbaking them.

Where in the oven are you baking them. Look at booklet that came with oven or if can't find try moving the cookie sheet up 1 notch closer to the top of oven, Generally cookies should be baked above the center of the oven. If your cookies look evenly browned oven is probably working fine. If ones on ends or back or front are too dark then problems with oven. If you are making sugar cookies they are supposed to be just golden on bottom. In most cases. The molasses cookies are taken out while they are still puffed up. Best to use timer for them as they do overbake very easily. Should be crackled on top & see just little brown on bottom,break open in center & should not be goo but a nice cooked but not dried out look. Hope this helps. Be sure to check where you are baking them 1st. Jan

Thanks for all the wonderful tips and advice. One of my past special needs students told me to put a slice of bread in the container with the hard cookies. I did and they turned just as soft and delicious as they were meant to be.

Dee-
Try "The Essential Chewy Sugar Cookie" from the King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion. It it very good! If you don't have it, I will type it up for you. Just let me know.

Thanks bybfbh, I get email from them all the time. I have made a few purchases through them, and while expensive it is well worth it. Thanks so much for the kind offer to type the recipe up, but I'll just go to the website and see if I can find it there.
Dee

I found this thread and made "The Essential Chewy Sugar Cookie" recipe last night. It is fantastic!! Thanks!!

Here is a link that might be useful: The Essential Chewy Sugar Cookie

I have a recipe for sugar cookies that have sour cream in it do you have this one it is a roll out but you can roll out and cut in in circles if you don't want to do the regular cutouts. It always stays soft
there is one for and molasses cookie that everyone enjoys and stays soft
Crinkle Molasses Cookies
lC. Sugar
3/4 C. shortening
1/4 C. molasses
1 egg
2 C. flour
21/2 tsp soda
1 tsp. each Cinnamon, and ground ginger
1/2 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp cardamon
1/4 tsp salt
sugar to roll cookies in
combine sugar and shortening,molasses and egg. Beat tell well blended add Flour spices beat at low speed until soft dough forms shape into 1" nalls roll in sugar Bake 135 degrees 8-12 mins
when I first got this recipe I doubled checked with my neice as to the amount of soda seems like a lot she said that was what her recipe says so that is what I use
good luck do buy a termonater and see what your oven temp actually is. if it reads 325 up the guage 25 degrees so it is what you need.
good luck cookies shouldn't be hard....unless you want them to be
sheila

okay this is one recipe that I've tried from this site that was a Thumbs up!!

Here is a link that might be useful: Soft Cutout Cookies~Baking Bites Blog