Short and sweet...

...describes these little gems to a T. Crispy, too, and thin, with a buttery vanilla flavor that melts out from the tiny golden crumbs as they fall onto your tongue. Best enjoyed with a good cup of coffee midmorning, or perhaps post-call, if that's how you roll.

Happy Valentine's Day!


Cinnamon vanilla sugar cookies for M
Adapted from 'Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-In-Your-Mouth Cookies' by Alice Medrich

Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened slightly
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1/2 tbsp pure vanilla extract
- Cinnamon sugar, for sprinkling (instructions below)

Yields about 50 1 1/2" heart-shaped cookies

Prep time (1): 20 min
Chill: 2-3 hours or overnight
Prep time (2): 40 min
Bake time: 8-10

1. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl and set aside.

2. Using an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 3-4 minutes). Beat in egg and vanilla.

3. Slowly add flour mixture, mixing until just incorporated. Turn dough onto the counter (it will be a bit crumbly) and knead it a couple of times. Divide the dough in 2, shape each half into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 2-3 hours (or overnight).

4. Preheat oven to 350F and remove dough balls from the fridge; let sit at room temperature until supple enough to roll. Line 2 large baking trays with parchment paper.

5. Turn one of the dough balls onto a large piece of wax paper and place another piece of wax paper on top of it (so that the dough is sandwiched between the papers). Alternatively, cut a large freezer Ziploc bag into two and use the pieces in place of the wax paper. This step allows you to roll the cookies out and prevents sticking without adding additional flour.

6. Roll the dough ball out until it is about 1/8" thick. Using a cookie cutter of your choice, cut out cookies from the rolled out dough, lift them carefully, and place on the baking sheet. Repeat until all of the dough has been used, but try not to over-work the dough as this will make the cookies denser.

7. Just before baking, sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top of the cookies. If you wish, you can also add colored sugar or sprinkles.

8. Place the tray in the oven and bake for 8-10 minutes, or until cookies are golden brown. Remove from oven, cool slightly on the tray, then lift onto a baking rack and finish cooling completely.

Cinnamon sugar

Ingredients
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon (or more, to taste)
- 1/8 tsp salt


1. Mix all ingredients together well, and adjust to taste. Store at room temperature in an airtight container.  You can substitute the cinnamon for any other spice, as you see fit!

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