I received my free charter issue of Cook's Illustrated new magazine: Cook's Country. It is pretty much in keeping with the original, thoroughly tested recipes explaining what worked best and why. I was inspired by the holiday cookie recipe to make and decorate these simple butter cookies. Every year, my mom and I get together on a day before christmas to bake dozens of batches of a variety of cookies. Every year I attempt different recipes to make these simple cookies with something going horribly wrong. Either the dough is too sticky or they cook to a rocky crisp or they are simply too dry and bland. This recipe produced the tastiest little butter cookie I have ever had and they come out soft and chewy: Butter Cookies c/o Cook's Country 2 3/4 c. all purpose flour 1 1/4 c. sugar 1 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp salt 2 egg yolks 6 Tbs sour cream 1 Tbs vanilla 12 Tbs unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in large bowl, set aside. In smaller bowl, whisk together egg yolks, vanilla and sour cream until well blended. While whisking constantly, slowly pour in butter until incorporated. Add wet mixture to the dry ingredients and stir until combined and then knead dough by hand in bowl until flour is incorporated and dough forms into a ball. Divide dough into two parts, shape each part into a rectangle 3/4" thick and wrap in plastic wrap and chill for an hour. Preheat oven to 325F. Roll out dough between pieces of parchment paper to 1/8" thickness. Cut to desired shapes, place on parchment lined baking pans and bake 16-18 minutes, rotating baking sheet half way through, until the edges of the cookies start to brown slightly. Cool and decorate!