3 Sticks soft unsalted butter
1/4 ts Salt
1 c Sugar
3 lg Egg yolks
1 ts Vanilla extract
1/4 ts Almond extract
3 1/4 c Unbleached all-purpose flour
-(up to 3-1/2)
1. Preheat oven to 350. Have ready 3 ungreased baking sheets. The baking
sheets can be lined with regular weight aluminum foil or parchment paper
for easier clean-up.
2. Put the butter & salt in a large mixing bowl & mix with an electric
mixer on low speed for 15 sec.. Add the sugar & beat on medium speed for 1
min. till smooth. Stop the mixer & scrape the sides of the bowl once during
the mixing. Mix in the egg yolks, vanilla, & almond extract till the egg
yolks are incorporated. Stop the mixer & scrape the sides of the bowl
again. On low speed, add 3 1/4 cups of the flour & mix just until the flour
is incorporated completely. The dough should feel soft & smooth but not
sticky. Add up to 1.4 cup more flour if necessary to achieve a soft dough.
3. To form a cookie, roll 1 Tblsp. of dough between the palms of your hands
into a 1-in. ball, & flatten the ball into a 1 3/4-in. circle. Place
cookies 1 in. apart on the baking sheets. Set aside 1 baking sheet of
cookies at room temp. & bake the other 2 sheets about 18 min. until the
edges & bottoms of the cookies are light brown. Reverse the baking sheets
after 9 min. from to back & top to bottom to ensure the cookies back
evenly. Bake the remaining sheet of cookies on the middle rack of the oven,
reversing the baking sheet after 9 min. Cool the cookies on the baking
sheets for 5 min. Transfer the cookies to a wire cooling rack to cool
completely.
Variation: Before baking , place a chocolate chip in the center of each
cookie.
Good Advice: Bake the cookies just until the edges are light brown. This
cooks the butter enough to give the cookies their buttery taste. Pale
butter cookies will have little flavor. You will need three baking sheets,
then the remaining sheet. Even if your oven has tree racks, 3 sheets of
cookies won’t bake properly.
Doubling the recipe: This is a large recipe, so it is easier to mix
separate batches of dough.
To Freeze: Place the bottoms of 2 cookies together & wrap them in plastic
wrap. Put the wrapped cookies in a metal or plastic freezer container &
cover tightly. Freeze up to 3 months.
To Serve: Remove as many cookies from the freezer as needed. Unwrap the
cookies & place them on a plate. Cover with plastic wrap & defrost at room
temp. Serve within 3 days.
Yields
54 Cookies