Williams-Sonoma Sugar Cookies

This is the second sugar cookie recipe I tried. It's from the book Cookies by Williams-Sonoma. I've made 4 other cookies from this book, so at this point I trust it (not like that The Perfect Finish book!). Instructions are copied verbatim from the book.

These were crispy/crunchy, light (but buttery/rich), and very tasty but rolled thin enough that they probably wouldn't withstand toddler frosting.

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg yolk

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp salt

Sugar for sprinkling, such as granulated, decorating, turbinado, maple or confectioners' 

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on high speed, cream the butter until fluffy and pale. Add the granulated sugar in 3 additions, beating on low speed for 2 minutes after each addition. Beat the egg yolk and vanilla into the butter mixture until well blended. 

2. Sift the flour and salt together onto a sheet of waxed paper. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix on low speed or stir with a wooden spoon just until blended. 

3. Scrape the dough out onto a work surface and divide into 4 equal portions. Shape into disks, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or for up to overnight. 

4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease 2 baking sheets or line them with parchment (baking) paper. 

5. Remove the dough disks from the refrigerator and let stand at room temperature for about 15 minutes. Working with 1 disk at a time, roll out between 2 sheets fo waxed paper to a thickness of 1/8 to 1/4 inch. Using cookie cutters, cut into circles or other shapes. Repeat with the remaining dough portions, then gather up the scraps and reroll them. If the scraps of dough have become sticky, refrigerate them for 10 minutes before rerolling. For best results, do not roll the same dough more than twice. 

6. Using an offset spatula, transfer the cookies to the prepared pans. Sprinkle with sugar. (If using maple or confectioners' sugar, bake the cookies, then sprinkle with sugar while still warm.) If using an intricately shaped cutter, refrigerate the cutout cookies for 15-30 minutes before baking. 

7. Bake the cookies until they are lightly golden brown on the bottom, 10-12 minutes. Let the cookies cool briefly on the pans on wire racks before transferring them to the racks to cool completely. 

My Notes

Like I've said before, I just whisk the dry ingredients in a bowl instead of sifting them.