Vanilla Sugar Cookies

Slightly modified from a 1997 Taste of Home magazine recipe - I cut back 1 tablespoon of the butter. You can also mix in food coloring (those tiny Wilton gel paste jars work great), and add colored sugar sprinkles to the tops before baking for different cookie occasions.

Vanilla Sugar Cookies

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter (no substitutes), minus 1 tablespoon
1 cup sugar or a little less
1 egg
1 tablespoon vanilla extract (yes, 1 tablespoon!)
1 1/3 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine dry ingredients, add to creamed mixture and mix well. Drop by teaspoonfuls 2" apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes (check at 12 minutes) or until edges are golden brown. Cool on the sheets for about 1 minute, no longer otherwise you'll be chipping them off.