My go-to cookie recipe. Very simple, not overly sweet. Delicious. A nice blank slate for you to gussy up as you choose.

Makes at least 3 dozen cookies, depending on size.

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more to roll out the dough

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 pound unsalted butter, softened (2 sticks)

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 tablespoon milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Combine the flour, salt and baking soda in a bowl. In a separate small dish, combine the milk and vanilla extract.

2. In a separate large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together with an electric mixer until fluffy and light, at least 5 minutes. Then beat in the egg. 

3. Add a portion of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat to combine. Then add a dash of the milk/vanilla mixture and combine. Continue to alternate adding the flour mixture and milk/vanilla mixture, beating after each addition, until everything has been added and thoroughly combined.

4. Transfer the cookie dough to a plastic storage bag, flatten the dough into a disk, press the air out and zip the bag closed. Rest in the refrigerator for 2+ hours, or in the freezer for 15-20 minutes.

5. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 400 degrees with the rack in the middle position. Line your cookie sheet with parchment.

6. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/4 inch thickness and cut with any cookie cutter. Transfer the cookies to the lined cookie sheet, leaving an inch between cookies. If you’re decorating the cookies with sugar (as in the picture), carefully spoon or sprinkle sugar onto each cookie.  

7. Bake for 5-12 minutes, depending on the size of your cookies. They’re done when they’re just starting to turn slightly golden brown at the edges.

9. Allow cookies to rest on the cookie sheet for a minute or so, then transfer to a rack to finish cooling.

Notes: 

If you can keep from eating all of them while they’re warm, you can decorate these with Royal Icing or Sugar Glaze once they have cooled completely.

If you prefer to slice your cookies from a log, feel free to shape the dough into a log in Step 4 rather than flattening it.

You can make the dough ahead and store it tightly wrapped in the refrigerator for several days, or in the freezer for a good 6 months.

Adapted from Mark Bittman's recipe for Refrigerator (Rolled) Cookies in How to Cook Everything, one of my all-time favorite cookbooks.