BASIC BUTTER COOKIES

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Basic Butter Cookies image

These butter cookies are absolutely delicious made with regular butter, but they become downright amazing with Plugrá or Land O Lakes Ultra Creamy.

Yield Makes about 4 dozen cookies

Number Of Ingredients 8

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Garnish: coarse or sanding sugar*; or melted chocolate (see cooks' note, below)

Steps:

  • Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl.
  • Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes in a standing mixer (preferably fitted with paddle attachment) or 6 with a handheld. Beat in egg and vanilla. Reduce speed to low, then add flour mixture and mix until just combined.
  • Form dough into a 12-inch log (2 inches in diameter) on a sheet of plastic wrap and 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 and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 375°F.
  • Cut enough 1/8- to 1/4-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 to 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.
  • *Available at specialty foods shops and New York Cake & Baking Distributor (800-942-2639).

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