Basic Butter Cookies
These Cookies Are Absolutely Delicious Made With Regular Butter, But They Become Downright Amazing With Plugrá Or Land O Lakes Ultra Creamy.
2 Cups All-purpose Flour
½ Tsp Baking Powder
½ Tsp Salt
¾ Cup Unsalted Butter, Softened
1 Cup Sugar
1 Large Egg
½ Tsp Vanilla
Garnish: Coarse Or Sanding Sugar*; Or Melted Chocolate
(see Cooks’ Note, Below)
Whisk Together Flour, Baking Powder, & Salt In A Small Bowl.
Beat Together Butter & Sugar In A Large Bowl With An Electric Mixer At Medium-high Speed Until Pale & Fluffy, About 3 Minutes In A Standing Mixer (preferably Fitted With Paddle Attachment) Or 6 With A Handheld. Beat In Egg &
Vanilla. Reduce Speed To Low, Then Add Flour Mixture & Mix Until Just Combined.
Form Dough Into A 12-inch Log (2 Inches In Diameter) On A Sheet Of Plastic Wrap & Roll Up Dough In Plastic Wrap. Chill Dough On A Baking Sheet Until Firm, At Least 4 Hours. (to Roll Cookies Into Balls, See Cooks' Note, Below.)
Put Oven Racks In Upper & Lower Thirds Of Oven & Preheat Oven To 375°f.
Cut Enough 1/8 - ¼-inch-thick Slices From Log With A Heavy Knife To Fill 2 Ungreased Large Baking Sheets, Arranging Slices About 1 Inch Apart (chill Remainder Of Log, Wrapped In Plastic Wrap).
If Garnishing With Coarse Sugar, Sprinkle Slices With It.
Bake Cookies, Switching Position Of Sheets Halfway Through Baking, Until Edges Are Golden, 12 - 15 Minutes Total.
Cool On Sheets 3 Minutes, Then Transfer With A Metal Spatula To Racks To Cool Completely.
Make More Cookies With Remaining Dough On Cooled Baking Sheets.
Cooks’ Notes:
Dough Log Can Be Chilled Up To 5 Days Or Frozen, Wrapped In A Double Layer Of Plastic Wrap, 1 Month. If Frozen, Thaw Dough In Refrigerator Just Until It Can Be Sliced.
Instead Of Forming Dough Into A Log & Chilling, You Can Roll Tablespoons Of Dough Into 1¼-inch Balls, Then Roll Balls In Finely Chopped Nuts (about 1 Cup) & Coarse Sugar. Bake, Switching Position Of Sheets Halfway Through
Baking, Until Bottoms Are Browned, About 15 Minutes Total.
To Garnish Cookies With Chocolate, Melt 3½ Oz Chocolate & Cool Slightly. Transfer To A Heavy-duty Sealable Plastic Bag & Snip A 1/16-inch Opening In 1 Corner. Pipe Chocolate Evenly Back & Forth Over Cookies. Let Chocolate Set Before Storing Cookies.
Cookies Keep, Layered Between Sheets Of Wax Paper Or Parchment, In An Airtight Container At Room Temperature 1 Week.
Makes About 4 Dozen Cookies.