In a large bowl, cream sugar, butter; add eggs, milk and vanilla.

By hand, stir in dry ingredients until mixed well.

Pat dough into two 8 or 9-inch disks and wrap in plastic wrap.

Refrigerate overnight before baking.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/8-inch thickness (or to your liking) and use cookie cutters to cut various shaped cookies. Add a little more flour to surface and rolling pin each time you re-roll dough scraps.

Bake at 350 degrees, 8-10 minutes, or until lightly browned on the edges. Cool on wire racks lined with paper towel to absorb the grease.

Frost and decorate as desired.

For Frosting: Cream butter, add powdered sugar, milk and vanilla using an electric mixer on medium speed. Adjust milk or powdered sugar according to consistency you want for frosting.

NOTE: You can also freeze the dough (disks) and bake when convenient. Pat into 2 discs (flour your hands a little), wrap individually in saran wrap and place in a large ziplock bag. See 3rd picture. Just thaw in refrigerator overnight when you want to roll out and bake. Dough should be somewhat cold when you roll out, it won't roll well at room temperature or if it is too soft. They roll out beautifully when dough is cold.