Halloween Cookies

I really got into cookie decorating a while back with the help of one of those Martha Stewart kits.  Now I have over 350 cookie cutters but some get more use than others. I have Frankenstein, witches, bats, spider webs, owls and lots of others, but my pumpkins are a favorite.  No matter how elaborate the decoration, it's got to start with a good cookie otherwise, nobody will eat it.  Here is my classic sugar cookie that holds its' shape and bakes well.  I roll out my chilled dough onto a pastry cloth and use a rolling pin sock to avoid sticking.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In the bowl of a food processor:

1 stick unsalted butter at room temp
1 cup sugar

Process until combined and creamed, then add

1 large egg

and process until combined, then add

2 cups all purpose flour, 1 cup at a time and process,
then add

1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla

Process, then scrape dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap. Wrap tightly and refrigerate for at least 4 hrs or overnight.  Flour the pastry cloth and rolling pin in its sock. Cut the chilled dough in half, returning other half to the refrigerator.  Roll to 1/4 in thickness and cut out shapes.  Bake on a cookie sheet 10-13 mins. depending on size.  Makes about 3 dozen 4 in. cookies.

Decorate with royal icing:

2 egg whites beaten until foamy
Add 2 cups powdered sugar and beat until smooth.
You may adjust the thickness of the icing to suit the need by thinning with a few drops of water or adding more powdered sugar for thicker icing.