Perfect Sugar Cookies

I'll admit that Christmas tends to bring out the perfectionist in me. This year is the first time in seven years that I am not making my "perfect" Christmas cookies. Is it painful? Yeah, I bit, but, darn it all, I can't eat them anyway!

photo from notsohumblepie

Decorative Vanilla Butter Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1Tbs pure vanilla extract
1 egg, slightly beaten
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Blend in vanilla extract. Add egg; beat for one minute. Stir in flour gradually. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm. Roll on floured board; cut. Bake 325* for 12 minutes.

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These cookies are buttery and best of all, they bake up without changing shape on you. I collect snowflake cookie cutters and this recipe allowed each little angle and edge to shine through. Frosted with coarse sugar and non-perials they were cookie perfection.

Allas, the first ingredient - one cup of butter - has parted us forever. Sigh. These cookies just don't work as well with the non-dairy margerine I have been using. They are great with Willow Run butter at $4 a pound, but not my $.75 Blue Bonnet light. What is a cookie diva on a budget to do?

Give it up and diva no more! LOL! It turns out that Pillsbury sugar cookies - the kind in the refrigerated roll - have no dairy in them. So this year for the first time I bought my cookies, sliced and baked them without my beloved snowflake shapes (which are still in storage) and frosted round cookies with dairy-free frosting.

And they turned out pretty darn good if not snowflakey.