Day 7 of my “12 Days of Baked Goods” series!

This is a very simple recipe that yields the greatest cookies for holiday decorating. They’re a bit crunchy around the edges yet still chewy and bake perfectly flat for easy decorating.

Ingredients

• ¾ cup butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ tsp. baking powder
• Pinch of salt

Directions:

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, whip the butter until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
2. Gradually add the sugar. Add the egg and vanilla, beating to just incorporate.
3. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and salt.
4. Using a wooden spoon, incorporate the flour mixture to the butter mixture in three additions – don’t overmix!
5. Divide the cookie dough in two, flatten each portion in a circle, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour.
6. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
7. On a lightly floured surface, flatten each portion of dough to a thickness of ¼ inch using a rolling pin.
8. Using a cookie-cutter (I used a round), cut desired shapes and place about 1-inch apart on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper. Use the scraps of dough to roll again for more cookies. Bake for 10-13 until very lightly golden, rotating the cookie sheets halfway through the baking process. Cool for a minute on the cookie sheets then transfer to a baking rack to cool completely.
9. Ice with your favorite glaze and decorate.

Yields 3 dozen cookies.