Christmas Butter Cookies

Can you imagine Christmas without cookies? No, right? There is something to it- is it the baking or being together with your loved ones or just this wonderful Christmassy smell. Who knows? Anyway, back to cookies! So if you’re the one that keeps the traditions alive in your family, we suggest bookmarking this recipe. It has everything- tradition, simplicity, and no fuss in the kitchen. Now let’s get baking! 

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter (no substitutions)
• 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• Powdered Sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 ºF. In a large bowl, with mixer at low speed, beat butter and sugar until blended. Increase speed to high beat until light and creamy. At low speed, beat in egg and vanilla. Beat in flour and baking powder just until blended.

Divide dough into 4 equal pieces. Wrap each piece with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm enough to roll about 1 hour.

On a lightly floured surface, with a floured rolling pin, roll 1 piece of dough 1/8 in thick. With floured 2 to 3 in assorted cookie cutters, cut dough into as many cookies as possible, wrap and refrigerate trimmings. Place cookies, 1 in apart, on large ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake cookies 10 to 12 mins, until lightly browned. Transfer cookies to wire rack to cool. If you like, brush colored sugar remaining on cookie sheets onto a piece of waxed paper to use again. Repeat with remaining dough and trimmings.

When cookies are cool, sprinkle powdered sugar as desired. Store cookies in tightly covered container up to 2 weeks.