Cut-Out Sugar Cookies

Steps

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
2. Beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until pale and fluffy. Mix in the eggs, one at a time, and then the vanilla, scraping the bowl as needed.
3. Turn the mixer to low and add the flour mixture in three parts. Stop as soon as a soft dough forms and no dry flour remains.
4. Divide the dough in half and roll each half between two sheets of parchment paper to an even 1/4-inch thickness. Stack the dough, still in its paper, on a baking sheet and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour.
5. Set a rack in the middle of the oven and heat it to 375°F. Line two 13-by-18-inch baking sheets with parchment paper.
6. Take out one sheet of dough at a time, peel off the top paper and cut out shapes with 2 1/2-inch cutters. Set them 1 inch apart on the lined pans, about 15 to a pan.
7. Press the scraps together, reroll them between parchment and chill until firm before cutting more.
8. Bake the cookies one pan at a time. After 9 to 11 minutes the edges should feel firm and the undersides should be lightly golden, while the tops stay pale.
9. Leave the cookies on the pan for 5 minutes to firm up, then transfer them to a wire rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes, before decorating.

Good to know

• Make the dough ahead: the rolled sheets keep, well wrapped, for up to 3 days in the fridge or 3 months in the freezer. Let frozen sheets sit out for a few minutes, until they cut without cracking.
• Plain baked cookies stay fresh for up to 1 week in a tightly closed tin or container, or up to 3 months in the freezer.
• Royal icing gives crisp designs that dry hard enough to stack. Once the icing has set completely, layer the cookies with parchment in between.
• For a bakery-style flavor, use 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla plus 1/2 teaspoon almond extract, or beat 1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest in with the sugar.