Easy Slice 'n Bake Butter Cookies
It’s really getting down to the wire now what with Christmas only a few days away. If you’re still looking for a holiday treat that comes together easily and is a guaranteed smile-maker, these Easy Slice ‘n Bake Butter Cookies will not let you down. Even Santa would double back and grab a couple of extra ones to nibble on while he makes the rounds!!
Truth be told, I have been making these for decades (am I dating myself?) and I actually thought I had blogged them years ago, but when I went to look I couldn’t find them. The mind is definitely going! Anyhow, better late than never, right? Guys, these are my go-to holiday cookie. Buttery, sweet and perfect for dunking, they dress up any holiday cookie platter or gift tin. And the best part is that they are silly easy to make and use ingredients you very likely have on hand. Which means you can quickly whip up the batter for these at night, let ‘em chill and bake in the morning or up to 5 days later! Even if baking gives you the jitters, you can manage these—I promise!
Once you’ve mixed together the flour, baking powder, salt, butter, sugar ,egg and vanilla, you form a log, wrap in plastic and as I already mentioned, chill for several hours. Then, you simply slice and place on cookie trays and leave as is—
Or decorate with sprinkles or sanding sugar.
They’re so colorful and festive!
But my favorite part is the way that they crunch but then melt in your mouth!! Mmmnnn! A true classic. Once you try these, I’m pretty sure you’ll be adding them to your holiday cookie repertoire for good because they’re so good!!
And speaking of good, I want to wish you all a good, no make that a great weekend! Hopefully you’ve gotten all or most of your shopping done and will be spending it stress-free eating bon bons in bed!! LOL! In any case, I want to wish you all a very happy holiday. Not sure what my posting schedule will be in the days to come—my kids are home so things are pretty much back to those toddler times (not quite, but almost) which leaves me with a lot less time to write and photograph, let alone cook, but I definitely have one or two recipes that need to be shared before we hit 2019!! Yikes! Stay tuned and stay well! and of course, eat something yummy!!xoxo
Easy Slice ‘n Bake Butter Cookies
Makes about 3 dozen cookies
Prep Time: 10 minutes, plus several hours chilling and up to 5 days; Bake Time: 12-15 minutes
Ingredients
2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter—regular American or European-style butter, like Plugra, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Sanding sugar, sprinkles etc for decorating (optional)
The Recipe
In a small bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together and set aside.
Use an electric mixer to beat the butter and sugar together at medium high speed for about 3 minutes, until the mixture looks pale and fluffy. If you are using a handheld mixer, you might need to extend the time a little to achieve the right consistency. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Turn the speed to low and mix in the flour mixture, scraping down the bowl as needed and only mixing until just combined.
Turn the dough out onto a sheet of plastic wrap and form into a 12-inch log with a 2-inch diameter. Wrap well and chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours and up to 5 days (when I chill this for a bunch of days, I usually double wrap it in the plastic wrap).
When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375ºF. Remove the log from the fridge, unwrap and use a sharp knife to slice 1/4 inch slices of dough and transfer to ungreased cookie sheets, spacing them at least 1 inch apart because these spread. You can leave these as is or decorate the tops with the sanding sugar or sprinkles.
Bake for 12-15, one sheet at a time, until the cookies have golden brown edges, turning the sheet around once during the process so that the cookies bake evenly. Transfer to a baking rack and let cool a few minutes, then use a metal spatula to transfer to the rack to finish cooling entirely. Repeat process with remaining dough.
Cookies will last about 1 week in an airtight container at room temperature. Also, the recipe doubles really well and if you like you can even freeze the log, well-wrapped for up to 1 month—just thaw dough in fridge overnight.
Enjoy!
Note: Recipe adapted from an old issue of Gourmet Magazine.
