{Classic sugar cookies by Saveur}

Makes about 2 dozen large cookies

These are the cookies Christmas memories are made of. Cut them into any
festive shapes you like and decorate them with icing, sprinkles, or sugar
or all of the above. Or just eat them right out of the oven.

6 cups flour
11⁄2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. kosher salt
3 cups sugar
11⁄2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
3 eggs
Ro
yal icing, sprinkles,
and sanding sugars,
for decorating

1) Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl; set aside. In an electric mixer fitted with a paddle, beat together sugar, butter, and vanilla until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Add the reserved flour mixture; beat to combine. Transfer dough to a floured surface; divide into 4 pieces. Shape each piece into a flat disk. Wrap each disk in plastic, and refrigerate for 1 hour.

2) Heat oven to 325°. Working with 1 disk at a time, roll to a 1⁄8” thickness on a floured surface. Using cookie cutters of your choice, cut out shapes and place cookies on parchment paper–lined baking sheets, spacing cookies 2” apart. Reroll dough scraps and repeat. Bake until lightly browned, 12–15 minutes. Let cool. Decorate with royal icing, sprinkles, and sugars.

Baking Tip: When making large, fragile shapes such as snowflakes or candy canes, use a wide metal offset spatula to transfer the cut dough pieces to the baking sheets.