Easy Butter Cookies

American Cookie Recipes

1 lb. butter (4 sticks) 1 1/3 c. sugar 3/4 tsp. salt 3 large egg yolks 2 tsp. vanilla 4 2/3 c. all-purpose flour

This is a great recipe for all those Christmas cookies -- rolled out cookie cutter cookies, spritz cookies from the cookie press, jam thumbprints, drop cookies. Cream butter, sugar, salt, until light and fluffy. Beat in egg yolks, one at a time, and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Gradually add flour, beating until just combined well. This is a stiff dough. If you're using this dough in a cookie press, it can be used immediately. If you are making cookie-cutter cookies, wrap tightly (if air gets in to the dough, it dries out and is only good for eating furtively over the sink), and refrigerate a few hours or overnight. Before you roll it out, allow it to rest at room temperature for a bit (with all the butter in this dough, straight from the refrigerator it is rock-like in hardness). The egg whites left over can be used to make Chocolate Kisses.

Submitted by Gretchen Grant
Contributed on: Monday January 24th, 2005 and modified on Friday December 22nd, 2006