Shortbread Cookies

These have to be the easiest homemade cookie on the planet to put together. Three ingredients and that's it. The only drawback if you want to call it one is that the flour has to be sifted. I hate sifting so I've come up with a way to get around that. If you have a food processor just chuck the flour in there and hit the power button. Let it whiz around for a minute or so and you should have fine flour as if you used a hand sifter or a fine mesh strainer.

Back to simple ingredients. Flour, butter and confectioners sugar - how much simpler can you get? And a little extra flour when rolling out the cookies. They bake in 15 minutes or less and you have some great tasting cookies that you can leave plain or jazz up with some icing you've made colorful for the holidays. It doesn't matter which holiday you are baking for either; whether it's Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years or Valentine's day these cookies will delight everyone.

The only extra things you need are: 1) various cookie cutters shapes that are about 2 inches and 2) your imagination for decorating if you go that route and 3) some parchment paper to line your baking sheets.

• 2 sticks softened butter
• 2 cups sifted flour + extra for rolling out the cookies
• 1/2 cup confectioners sugar

1. Place the butter in the bowl of your stand mixer and beat until it's light and creamy.
2. Slowly add in the confectioners sugar a little at a time until fully incorporated.
3. Slowly add in the flour a little at a time until fully incorporated, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.
4. Remove the dough from the bowl to plastic wrap. Form a disc and refrigerate for about 20 minutes.
5. After the dough has chilled, lightly flour your rolling pin and surface and roll the cookies to 1/4" thickness.
6. Cut out the cookies and re-roll any scraps until you have finished with the dough.
7. Carefully place them on a parchment lined cookie sheet about 1 inch apart and bake in a preheated 350° oven for 12-15 minutes.
8. If you are decorating with holiday colored sugars, sprinkle on the cookies BEFORE you bake them.
9. If you are decorating with icing allow the cookies to cool completely on a wire rack before icing.

I got thirty five cookies out of this batch using my round and star cutter. These inexpensive cookies cost me approximately $3.60 to make and they are wonderful to give as holiday gifts to co-workers, neighbors, friends and to bring to any holiday gathering. The cookies are light and buttery and I could eat a dozen at one sitting!