HOLIDAY BUTTER COOKIES

 by Anita Lewis Isom

24 Tbsp. (3 sticks) salted butter, softened

1 ¾ cups granulated sugar

2 egg yolks

2 tsp. vanilla

3 ½ cups all-purpose flour

Red, pink, orange, or multicolored decorating sugar

Preheat oven to 350.  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Add yolks and vanilla, beat again to combine, and then beat in flour.

Form dough into 1” balls and arrange on large, ungreased baking sheets, spacing cookies about 2” apart.  Transfer decorating sugar to wide, shallow dishes.  Press 1 ball of dough with the bottom of a decorative patterned glass (I used cookie stamps).  Then dip the glass in sugar and flatten a cookie with it, so the pattern and sugar transfer to the top of the dough.  Repeat with remaining cookies.

Bake until cookies are lightly golden around the edges, 10 to 12 minutes.  Let rest on baking sheets 2 minutes, and then gently transfer to baking racks to cool.

Makes 5 to 6 dozen cookies.