Sugar Cookies  - Basic Recipe

Ingredients~

1/2 cup softened butter or margarine
2/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 2/3 cup flour
2/3 tsp baking powder

Steps~

Cream butter and sugar together until nice and smooth.
Beat in the egg and then the vanilla
Sift the flour and baking powder together in a separate bowl and then add to butter mixture.
Roll your dough out into a log and then wrap up in plastic wrap
Refrigerate for two hours
Options: 1. Slice the cold roll into 1/2 inch slices
              2.  Roll 1/4 slices into balls and flatten them with your thumb, putting a little jam in the middle
              3.  Roll balls into crushed nuts and then flatten with a fork
Put cookies about an inch apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet
Bake 7-10 minutes, remove from oven right away and cool completely before transferring them onto a plate.
More options: 1. Drizzle stripes of icing made from powdered sugar and lemon juice
                       2. Dip edges or half of cookie into melted white, milk or dark chocolate
                       3. Ice and decorate with sprinkles, small candies and gum drops