Butter Cookies

This is a simple butter cookie that can be used in a cookie press, as a drop cookie or made into a roll and slice or you could roll the dough out and cut shapes... or you could just make them and eat them as it is, which is my favorite....whatever you do, they will be delicious....all you need...

unsalted butter 8 oz

granulated sugar 3/4 cup

salt 1/4 tsp

vanilla extract 1 1/2 tsp

egg yolk 1

all-purpose flour 2 cups

cut the butter in cubes... add in mixing bowl 

beat the butter, sugar, salt and vanilla together until smooth and creamy...

mix in the egg yolk until well incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl at least once

add the flour and mix just until incorporated

scrape onto a lightly floured board and knead a few times, just until the dough smooths out.

turn onto a sheet of plastic wrap and roll into a log, wrap up and refrigerate for several hours or freeze

before baking, preheat the oven to 325°F.

line your baking sheets with parchment.

slice the dough into slices about 1/8" thick or them on floured surface

cut it into any shape with cookie cutter of your own choice

pick it with spatula and place them on the sheets about an inch apart (they won't be spreading very much, but they need air room around each cookie)

bake until JUST beginning to turn golden around the edges, about 16-18 minutes

Note: you can do many things with these cookies.... you could slice them even thinner and sandwich them with chocolate or jam or lemon curd....you could make them and then dip them half into chocolate..