In a large bowl beat the shortening and sugar until smooth. Blend in the egg and vanilla. In a separate bowl, mix all of the dry ingredients.

Blend in the dry ingredients into the eggs alternately with the sour cream, being sure not to overwork the dough.

IMPORTANT: Refrigerate the dough covered with cling wrap overnight, or at least a couple of hours.

Preheat your oven to 350°F.

Place half of the dough on floured surface. Press the dough out with your floured hands. Use a flour coated rolling pin to roll the dough out evenly to about 1/8 inch thickness.

Coat your cookie cutters with flour and cut out as many shapes as you can. Using a flour coated spatula, carefully transfer the cookies to parchment lined or non-stick baking sheets.

Repeat steps 2 & 3 with the other half of dough. Don't waste the scraps of dough! Ball them up with your hands and roll them out for more cookies. (These cookies won't have quite as soft of texture as they get slightly overworked, but are still very good.)

Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes at 350°F or until just very slightly golden brown on the edges. Keep a close eye on the cookies, because you want them a beautiful light color for the best texture.

Allow the cookies to completely cool on cooling wracks before frosting. Store in an air-tight container.