Master Recipe for Butter Cookies

Makes 40 drop or thumbprint cookies or 65 refrigerator cookies. The dough needs to be properly chilled for easy rolling and the amount of refrigerator time required may vary. It is also important to beat the butter until it is very light and fluffy for good results. Sift together the flour and salt onto a sheet of waxed paper. Set aside. Place butter in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer on high speed for about 5 minutes, or until pale yellow and fluffy. (Be sure to beat butter for the full 5 minutes.) Add the sugar and beat on medium-high speed until mixture is very pale and very light, another 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl and add the yolks and vanilla. Beat for 30 seconds, or until incorporated. Add the flour mixture and beat, slowly at first, for about 20 seconds, or until mixture forms a rough dough. Shape the dough into a ball (if making refrigerator cookies, dough must be shaped into logs at this point), wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 3 days. Adjust a rack to the middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Shape cookies (see variations below) and bake on parchment-lined sheet pans for 7 to 15 minutes, depending on the shape of the cookie. If your oven is uneven, turn the cookie sheet front to back halfway through baking. The bottoms of the cookies should be lightly browned, while the tops should barely take on color. Let cookies sit on a cooling rack for 1 hour to set. Rolled cookie variation: Refrigerate dough for an extra half-hour (for a total of 2 1/2 hours). On a lightly floured surface, roll dough out until it is 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick, depending on the thickness desired ( 1/8 inch is about as thick as a quarter). Cut into shapes with a cookie cutter. Gather scraps and roll out again, cut into shapes and repeat until all the dough is used. A 1/8-inch cookie will take 7 to 8 minutes to bake
the thicker cookie will take another minute or two. Jam sandwich variation: Follow directions for the rolled cookie variation, rolling out the dough to a thickness of 1/8 inch. Cut dough with a round cookie cutter and place half of the circles onto parchment-lined cookie sheets. Spread a thin layer of jam (apricot and raspberry are good choices) over these circles. Using a smaller-diameter cookie cutter, cut a hole from the center of the remaining rounds of dough and place the resulting "doughnuts" on top of the jam-covered circles. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, or until done. Roll out the dough scraps to make more cookies. You can also bake the cookies first and then add the jam
in this case, bake 7 to 8 minutes. Drop cookie variation: Shape rounded teaspoons of dough into balls using your palms and place onto parchment-lined baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Brush with beaten egg white and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until lightly browned. Thumbprint cookie variation: Shape rounded teaspoons of dough into balls using your palms and place onto parchment-lined baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Make an indentation in the middle of the dough with your thumb and fill with 1/4 teaspoon jam. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until lightly browned. Refrigerator cookie variation: Divide the dough into 4 pieces. Take each piece and place it on a sheet of waxed paper. Mold dough into a log shape and then wrap with the waxed paper. Twist the ends to seal. Chill for 2 hours, or up to 3 days. To make cookies, unwrap and cut 1/4-inch-thick cookies with a thin knife. Dip knife in water every few cookies to facilitate cutting. Bake about 14 minutes, or until lightly browned. Almond cookie variation: Add 1/2 teaspoon almond extract along with the egg yolks. Add 1 cup toasted, slivered almonds to the dough mixture before the last 5 seconds of mixing. Per serving (based on 65): 52 calories (percent of calories from fat, 52), less than 1 gram protein, 6 grams carbohydrates, less than 1 gram fiber, 3 grams fat, 14 milligrams cholesterol, 19 milligrams sodium. Per serving (based on 40 thumb cookies): 85 calories (percent of calories from fat, 52), 1 gram protein, 9 grams carbohydrates, less than 1 gram fiber, 5 grams fat, 23 milligrams cholesterol, 30 milligrams sodium.