Sugar Cookies

2.5 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1.5 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla

1. Whisk together flour and salt in a small bowl.

2. Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes in a stand mixer or 6 minutes with a handheld. Beat in egg and vanilla. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture, mixing until just combined.

3. Form dough into 2 balls and flatten each into a 6" disk. Chill disks, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 1 hour.

4. Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350.

5. Roll out 1 disk of dough (keep remaining dough chilled) into an 8.5" round (1/4" thick) on a well-floured surface with a well-floured rolling pin. (If dough becomes too soft to roll out, rewrap in plastic and chill until firm.) Cut out as many cookies as possible from dough with cutters and transfer to 2 ungreased large baking sheets, arranging cookies about 1 inch apart.

6. Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until edges are golden, 10 to 12 minutes, then transfer to racks to cool completely.

7. Meanwhile, gather scraps and chill until dough is firm enough to reroll, 10-15 minutes. Make more cookies with remaining dough and scraps (reroll scraps only once) and bake on cooled baking sheets.

8. Do not ice cookies until completely cooled. Let icing dry completely (about 1 hour) before storing cookies.

Makes 2-3 dozen cookies.