Festive Butter Cookies

Makes approximately 35-40 cookies.

Ingredients

150g unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup caster sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

Method

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the softened butter and caster sugar. Beat well until pale and creamy (this should take 2-3 minutes).

2. Crack the egg into the butter & sugar and add the vanilla extract. Beat gently for 1 minute to combine.

3. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt.

4. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet. Keep folding until a soft dough forms.

5. Shape into a disc, wrap in some plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to chill for 30-45 minutes.
   
   

1. Preheat the oven to 180˚C. Line two baking trays with baking paper.

2. Flour your bench surface well. Place the disc of dough on the floured surface, lightly flour the rolling pin and then gently roll out until about 1/2cm thick.

3. Use a cookie cutter of choice to gently cut out the dough. Place the cut dough onto the trays (make sure they’re not touching). Repeat until all dough is gone (you will need to re-flour your surface and re-roll the dough so you don’t waste any).

4. Place the biscuits in the oven and cook for 8-10 minutes, or until the edges are starting to turn a golden brown.

TIPS:

• This dough can be quite delicate so make sure you flour the bench surface and rolling pin well otherwise the dough will crack.

• Once you’ve cut the dough with the cutter, use a pallet knife to gently lift it from the bench and transfer it to the baking tray.

• If the dough cracks, you can push it back together very easily. 

• To ice these cookies, you can sieve 1 cup icing sugar into a bowl with 1 tsp softened butter. Stir in 1 tsp boiling water at a time until you have created a thin icing mixture. Add a few drops of whichever food colouring you would like. You can use a piping bag or a palette knife to spread the icing over the cookies.