Classic Cutout Cookies

These cookies are fun for the whole family and kids love to help decorate them.

Ingredients

Cookies:
2 1/2 Cups flour (all purpose)
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Cup butter -2 sticks, room temperature
2/3 Cup white granulated sugar
1 egg (or 2 egg yolks for really rich flavor)
1 TB. PURE VANILLA EXTRACT

Vanilla Frosting:
2 Cups powdered sugar
2 tsp. butter, melted
3 TB. milk
1 tsp. PURE VANILLA EXTRACT

Directions

Sift flour and salt, set aside. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar with a medium speed mixer until creamy and light yellow–about 3 minutes. Beat in the egg and PURE VANILLA EXTRACT. When blended, add flour about 1/3 at a time, blending between additions. Once the dough is mixed, it needs to be refrigerated for at least 2 hours so it will roll out easily. Divide the dough in half, roll into balls, and place each ball on a sheet of plastic wrap or waxed paper. Place another sheet on top, and then flatten with your hand into an inch thick disk. Make sure all the dough is wrapped up, and then pop in the fridge.
To bake the cookies, preheat oven to 350˚. Sprinkle flour on the work surface. Rub a bit of flour on your rolling pin and roll out the dough to the thickness you desire—usually 1/4-1/2 an inch. You can use 1/4-inch chopsticks as thickness guides. Place one on each side of the dough and then start rolling. Flip the dough and dust with flour a few times during rolling to prevent sticking, but try not to overuse the flour, or the cookies won’t be as tender. Cut the cookies and place on a greased cookie sheet–preferably one without edges, which is easier to slide the baked cookies off of. Throw the scraps of dough into the refrigerator while rolling out the second ball, and then combine the scraps for a third sheet. Bake each sheet at 350˚ for 8-10 minutes, until lightly golden–not brown, as the cookies taste best on the pale side. Remove from oven, slide off the pan, and let cool before frosting.
To prepare the frosting, beat all of the ingredients together until smooth, adding more milk as necessary to receive desired consistency. Color with food coloring if desired. If you are using a base color and dipping all of the cookies in it, you may want to add an extra TB. of milk to the icing. It is easier to decorate if the base color is thinner than the accent colors.

Prep. time: 10 minutes plus chilling time (2 hours or more)
Baking time: 8-10 minutes
Frosting: about 10 minutes, unless you get fancy
Yield: 3 dozen or so cookies