Vanilla Sugar Cookies

4 cups (18 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, slightly softened
2 cups (14 ounces) sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
Sugar or vanilla sugar

Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl and mix together thoroughly with a whisk or a fork.

Beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes.  Beat in the eggs and vanilla.  On low speed, beat in the flour until just incorporated.  Scrape the dough into a mass and knead it with your hands a few times until smooth.  Divide the dough into 4 pieces and form each into a flat patty.  Wrap and refrigerate the patties until firm enough to roll, preferably several hours or overnight.

Heat the 350° F.  Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven.

Remove 1 patty from the refrigerator and let it set at room temperature until supple enough to roll but still quite firm.  Roll the dough between two sheets of wax paper to a thickness of 1/8 inch.  Turn the dough over once or twice while rolling it out to check for wrinkles; if necessary, peel off and smooth the paper over the dough before continuing to roll it.

When the dough is thin enough, slide it (still between the sheets) onto a cookie sheet and refrigerate.  Repeat with the remaining patties, sliding each rolled-out piece on top of the others in the fridge.  Remove the bottom (coldest) sheet of dough from the refrigerator.  Peel off the top sheet of paper and set it on the counter.  Invert the dough onto it and peel off the second sheet.

Cut cookie shapes as close together as possible to minimize scraps, dipping the edges of the cookie cutters in flour as necessary to prevent sticking.  Place the cookies at least 1 1/2 inches apart on cookie sheets (greased or lined with parchment paper).  If the dough gets too soft at any time, refrigerate for a few minutes until firm. Repeat process with remaining pieces of dough.  Gently press the remaining dough scraps together (don't overwork them with too much kneading) and reroll.  Sprinkle cookies with sugar or vanilla sugar.

Bake cookies for 8 to 10 minutes, or until pale golden at the edges, rotating the pans from top to bottom and from front to back halfway through the baking time.  Repeat until all the cookies are baked.

For lined pans, set the pans or just the parchment liners on racks to cool.  For greased, unlined pans, let the cookies firm up for 1 or 2 minutes, then use a metal spatula to transfer the cookies to racks.  Cool cookies completely before stacking, decorating, or storing.  May be kept in an airtight container for at least one month.


Makes about ninety 2 1/2-inch cookies or fifty-five 3 1/2-inch cookies.

From Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy by Alice Medrich