The first sentence means to cream together the butter and the sugar. There is no cream involved. This one stumped a friend of mine years ago for 30 minutes one night when I left her with ingredients and the recipe and told her to get started. I returned and she said, “What am I supposed to DO with the cream, butter, and sugar?!” We still laugh about it today (pictured here). Sifting the flour, dissolving the soda in the milk and chilling the dough thoroughly all do matter. 1/8 in thickness – thickness is a personal preference. Some people like their cookies thin and crunchy and others thick and chewy. Play with the dough and try it at different thicknesses and see what you like. Or, you may prefer to make some of both to please ALL family members. That’s what my mom did as my brother and I liked them different. Instead of a greased cookie sheet, I use a Silpat mat. If you don’t know what this is, you must get one; at least one! I own 3 and use them ALL the time. Read more on Silpat mat. They are available at any home goods or cookware store. Eat them plain or have fun decorating and don’t just make them at Christmas! They make great hearts at Valentine’s Day, Bunnies and Eggs at Easter, pumpkins, and ghosts for Halloween and I even found a teapot cutter we use for our Spring Tea. These are our featured sugar cookies in our Celebration Package