In a large bowl cream butter until smooth, cream vanilla into butter, cream powdered sugar and baking soda into butter and Vanilla. Dump all 4 cups of flour into butter, vanilla, powdered sugar and baking soda. Mix until dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl. Place in refrigerator for approximately 20 minutes. Remove from refrigerator and "knead until it feels right"-read mash it together several times but not too many or it will be hard. Grease a 15" X 10" X 3/4" baking pan with butter. Spread out evenly in pan. Prick don't pierce at one inch intervals with a fork. Do not preheat oven. Place in a moderate oven (325°) for 35 minutes. After 35 minutes or until it "smells" done and is golden brown around the edges and as baked as you like it, turn oven off, remove from oven and cut into rectangles or squares Place back in oven to cool.
I make this for Christmas, Yule and 12th Night gifts so I cut mine into squares. I can usually get around 180 to 190 per batch. for competition I recommend cutting to resemble Walker's.
© Witches Against Religious Discrimination
All Rights Reserved.