Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, using a stand mixer or hand mixer, blend cold butter and sugar.

Add egg and vanilla. Mix to combine again.

Gradually add the flour and salt a little at a time so the flour doesn’t fly all over. You can do this by hand if you prefer, just be sure it is well combined.

On a clean surface, sprinkle powdered sugar. Form your dough into a disk and sprinkle powdered sugar on top to prevent the rolling pin from sticking.

Roll the dough out to your desired thickness and cut out your shapes with cookies cutters. I find that the metal cutters create the sharpest edges. I usually roll my dough out to somewhere between ⅛ to ¼ of an inch.

Using a spatula, carefully lift and transfer cut outs to the lined baking sheet. These cookies don’t spread, so you can put them about ½ inch apart. Continue pulling the scraps together into a ball and rolling again until all of the dough has been cut out into cookies.

Bake for 8-10 minutes. Remove before the edges begin to brown. Let them cool completely on the baking sheet before removing them. They will crumble if you try to remove them before they are cool.

Once cool, decorate as you wish! Try using my Quick Dry Cookie Icing (see link above in post text).