(Not So) Lazy Sugar Cookies

A month or so ago I was bored so I decided to bake cookies. It's cold outside, though, so I didn't really want to go to the grocery store to pick up any ingredients I didn't already have. To solve my first dilemma I turned to one of my favorite online recipe gathering places, Allrecipes.com. I only had one egg, plenty of butter, no milk or chocolate chips, and no baking soda. Really, it was almost like a reverse Iron Chef -- make something WITHOUT any of these secret ingredients. Luckily I found a recipe that only included ingredients in my cupboard. Next came the feats of strength. I don't have a mixer in my tiny kitchen, but amazingly I was able to cream the butter and sugar together by hand. Once everything got put together I decided I didn't want to roll it out and cut it, since rolling usually makes a big mess. I found another suggestion online to roll the cookies into teaspoon sized balls, then press them with the bottom of a glass. Another recipe even suggested spraying the bottom of the glass with Pam, dipping it into sugar, then pressing the balls onto the cookie sheet. They turned out crisp, sparkly, buttery, and not too sweet. Adam even called them "the best cookies ever." Not bad for not having the right ingredients or tools!

INGREDIENTS

* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 3/4 cup white sugar
* 1 egg
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1/4 cup sugar for decoration
* 3/4 cup butter

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl combine the flour and salt with a wire whisk. In a large mixing bowl cream the butter and sugar. Add the egg and vanilla, and beat until well blended. Add flour and mix until combined. Do not over-mix.
3. Cover dough and refrigerate for 1/2 hour (in the bowl is ok!).
4. Spray the cookie sheet with non-stick spray or cover with parchment paper.
5. Scoop out a teaspoon (or slightly larger) of dough and roll it into a ball. Unless you don't want round cookies. Then you could probably make an oval, or a cube.
6. Place the ball of dough onto the pan. Spray the bottom of a glass with non-stick spray, then dip it into a plate with sugar and press the cookie flat with the bottom of the glass. Cookies should be about 1/4 in. high.
7. Continue rolling and pressing cookies. Plan ahead when you put the ball on the baking sheet so the cookies are about 3/4 inch apart.
8. Bake for 13-15 minutes. Remove the cookies when the become golden around the edges, not brown. Transfer them to a piece of parchment paper (or brown paper sack) to cool.