The Smell of Butter Cookies

Hii.. I love to TRAVEL Period..

I work from Home..its was one of the Happiest decisions of my life when I quit my regular job and decided to work from home..Not only I can do what I love, I can also choose when to do it..Since I don't have to go get dressed and be stuck in traffic for hours to reach my office being a WFH (work from home) gives me a lot of time to also do the other things I love like 'Cooking and Baking'..

And the biggest advantage is I and the husband (btw N is also a WFH infact we work together) can plan our vacations before-hand, finish our deadlines and not fear for the leave-application to get rejected..

Now why am I telling you all of this.. Its because last evening I was having this great urge to travel..but since there were no immediate plans it made me feel all the more desperate..So the easiest solution was to do something else which I love to let my mind be at peace.. (Yes, I always find some excuse to bake hehe)

So I pop open the refrigerator and spot some unused butter!!!! What next.. I am in the kitchen preparing the dough for my 'Plain Butter Cookies'.. I have taken this recipe from Stephanie's  'Joy of Baking'.. I let go of the nuts part of it because I prefer the Plain Butter Cookies and also I adjusted the quantities of the ingredients according to the amount of butter I had.. Here I am putting up the quantities I used..

PLAIN BUTTER COOKIES

Plain  Butter Cookies

Makes: Around 35-38 biscuits

Note: The cookie dough needs to be refrigerated overnight

Butter ( Unsalted and Salted)

Ingredients:

150 gms Butter at room temperature (I used 50 gms White Unsalted Butter and 100 gms Salted Butter)

90 gms granulated white sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

180 gms All Purpose Flour / Maida

1/4 teaspoon salt - ONLY if your entire butter is UNSALTED

Procedure:

Sugar and Butter

1. Take the Butter (at room temperature) and beat it with an stand/hand mixer till smooth.
2. Add the granulated white sugar and beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. 
3. Beat in the egg and vanilla extract. 
4. In a separate bowl, whisk  the flour and Salt (if you are using only Unsalted Butter)
5.  Gradually add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture and beat just until incorporated.
   
6. Divide the dough in half and shape each half into a log (round or square) that is about 1 1/2 inches (4 cm) in diameter. Wrap each log in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator until firm (preferably overnight)
7. Once the log is firm, with a sharp knife, slice cookies about 1/8 - 1/4 inch thick.
8. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
9. Lightly butter the baking sheet or Line it with parchment paper. Place the cookies on the baking sheet, spacing about 2 inches (5 cm) apart.

   

   Flour

10. Bake the cookies for about 10 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies are golden brown. (Check once in between and don't over bake).
11. Remove from oven and place the cookies very carefully on a wire rack to cool. (Very Important Step) . These cookies can be stored several weeks at room temperature.

Dough ready to be refrigerated

Dough sliced into thing cookies and kept for Baking

After Baking

Cooling on the Wire Rack

The very Smell of these Cookies can lift up your mood.. And so I gobbled up a couple instantly.. That doesn't mean I still don't need a vacation but then atleast I can wait for my next trip with a SMILE on my face and a BUTTER COOKIE in my hand!

Thanks for reading!!