Ingredients
- 3 cups flour (do not firmly pack)
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract (I use clear)
Preparation
Step 1
In a separate mixing bowl whisk together flour and baking powder
In the bowl of a kitchen mixer, beat together unsalted butter and sugar. Once mixed well, add in egg. Mix again, then add in vanilla. I like to use my Kitchen aid and paddle.
Slowly add in flour mixture about a cup at a time. Mix until dough forms and begins to clump together. If your dough is still crumbly, keep mixing! My dough starts out crumbly and then comes together to form a really nice dough!
Gather up dough and knead it with hands until it’s nice and smooth (if needed). Roll it into a ball, wrap with plastic wrap, and place in fridge to chill. I like to let min chill about 20 minutes. You will want it to be kind of firm but not hard. If it’s too hard…just leave it out on the counter for just a little bit until it softens up. Then you can work it a little bit to soften it back up. Even if it’s rock hard it will come back to a nice workable dough – you can speed up the process by breaking it in two and kneading it until it gets softer.
Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350 and line a large cookie sheet(s) with parchment paper. Another option is to use the silicone baking mats made especially for treats like this! I personally have had them on my list forever, but just haven’t baked with them yet! Many bakers I know swear by theirs…but parchment paper will do the trick. Maybe santa will bring me some this year ;). **update- I santa did bring me one! I do use it and it works great, but since I only have one I also rely on my good old parchment paper!**
Step 2: Roll out the dough. I like to do so in between a lightly flour dusted sheet of parchment paper (on bottom) and wax paper (on top). You can use two sheet of wax paper or parchment paper if you would like. The purpose of the papers is it keeps the dough very smooth, leaving no marks from the rolling pin. The reason why I use one of each is I like the flexibility of the wax paper on top and I like the parchment paper on bottom because it’s heavier and if I am cutting a difficult shape I can bake right on the paper that it was cut on after removing excess dough.
The other thing you will notice is my rolling pin. I adore this rolling pin. The spacers allow my dough to roll perfectly even, and there are three different thicknesses to chose from. Before I bought this rolling pin however, I simply laid two dowel rods on each side of the dough and rolled the rolling pin over them to make a guide, cheap and works like a charm. If I want a thick cookies (like these) I use the 3/8 guide (or dowel rods) or for a bit thinner cookie I use the 1/4 guide (or dowel rods).
Just one more thing. The wax paper can wrinkle and leave marks on the dough. When I first lay my ball of dough down I use my hands and push it flat just a bit, then lay my wax paper over, so my rolling pin can then roll it out smooth. Whew…did you catch all that?
Cut out cookies. Once my dough is rolled out I use my cookie cutters to cut out the shapes. If the cookies are sticking in the cutter you can lightly dust it with flour to help. For the most part the cookies will stay right in the dough where you cut them. Once your done cutting all the cookies, tear away the excess dough. Then you can gently lift the cookies by pulling up the edge of the parchment paper and gently transferring the cookie from the paper to your lined baking sheet with my hand. Another way of doing this is simply cutting the shapes out where they will need to be to bake, then remove the dough and bake right on the sheet. This keeps the cookies from stretching at all BUT it limits the amount of dough you can use the first round. And the less times a dough has been rolled the better. So unless I’m cutting a really delicate cookie, I just carefully transfer them.
Once cut out and laid on a cookie sheet place the cookie sheet in the freezer for about 2-4 minutes depending on the size. This really helps the cookies keep their shape. Once they have chilled for a few pop them in the oven. Baking times really really depend on size of cookie. These cookies were about 2.5 inches and baked perfectly at 7 minutes. Simply turn your oven light on and start the timer for six minutes. Check them then and add a minute or two as needed. I like my cookies to be really soft so I pull them about just when I notice the very the “moist” look of the dough is gone on top or if I notice any bit of golden on the bottom. I am a burn-a-phob so I like to pull them out when they are just baked.