Sugar Cookies

Here's a super easy recipe that was perfect for a relaxing evening of catching up on my new favorite show, "The Mentalist." Easy to mix, easy to refrigerate, and easy to cut and bake.

Enjoy!

I was just so into the show I forgot to take pictures before I ate a couple, and then I got a little lazy with the quality ;)

All-Occasion Sugar Cookies
(Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, pages 146-147)

Yield: About 20 Slice-and-Bake cookies

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Whisk the flour, salt and baking powder together.
2. Working with a stand mixer, perferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter at medium speed for a minute or so, until smooth. Beat in the sugar and continue to beat for about 2 minutes, until the mixture is light and pale. Add the egg and yolk and beat for another minute or two; beat in the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low and steadily add the flour mixture, mixing only until it has been incorporated – because this dough is best when worked least, you might want to stop the mixer before all the flour is thoroughly blended into the dough and finisht eh job with a rubber spatula. When mixed, the dough will be soft, creamy and malleable.
3. Turn the dough out onto a counter and divide it in half. If you want to make roll-out cookies, shape each half into a disk and wrap in plastic. If you want to make slice-and-bake cookies, shape each half into a chubby sausage (the diameter is up to you – I usually like cookies that are about 2 inches in diameter) and wrap in plastic. Whether you’re going to roll or slice the dough, it must be chilled for at least 2 hours. (Well wrapped, the dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months.)
4. Getting Ready to Bake: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.
5. If you are making slice-and-bake cookies, use a sharp thin knife to slice the dough into ¼-inch-thick rounds, and place the rounds on the baking sheets, leaving about 1½ inches between the cookies.
6. Bake the cookies one sheet at a time for 9 to 11 minutes, rotating the sheet at the midpoint. The cookies should feel firm, but they should not color much, if at all. Remove the pan from the oven and dust the cookies with sugar or cinnamon sugar, if you’d like. Let them rest for 1 minute before carefully lifting them onto a rack to cool to room temperature.
7. Repeat with the remaining dough, cooling the baking sheets between batches.

Storing: The cookies will keep at room temperature in a tin for up to 1 week. Wrapped well, they can be frozen for up to 2 months.

Happy Baking!

Jessica