Poilane's Butter Cookie

After buying a bag of Poilane's butter cookies in Paris, I ran to the computer to find the recipe. And guess what? The NY Times got it out of Mr. Poilane and shared it with all of us. Its by far, my favorite butter cookie recipe so far. It was Sam's birthday this past weekend, so I decided to dress them up a bit.

Poilane’s Butter Cookies (Adapted from Lionel Poilâne)
Time: 45 minutes, plus 4 hours' chilling

5 ounces unsalted French or premium American butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
2 cups all-purpose flour

1. Put butter in the bowl of a mixer and, working on low speed, beat until smooth. Add sugar and continue to beat until it is blended into the butter. Add egg and beat, still on low speed, until it too is incorporated. Add flour and mix only until it disappears; do not over mix.

2. Transfer dough to a work surface and knead it 6 to 8 times, until it just comes together. Divide dough in half, shape each half into a 4-inch disk, wrap in plastic and chill until firm, about 4 hours.

3. Position racks to divide oven into thirds and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

4. Working with one disk at a time, roll dough out on a lightly floured surface until it is between 1/8- and 1/4-inch thick. Using a 1 1/2- inch round cookie cutter, cut out as many cookies as you can. Place cookies on lined sheets. (Gather scraps into a disk, chill them, then roll out and cut.) Bake cookies for 8 to 10 minutes or until set; they should not take on much color. Cool on a rack.

Royal Icing: I just use a couple egg whites. Whip to a soft peak, and add about 1 lb of powdered sugar. You can add almond extract, vanilla extract (which makes the white a little off white) or just a couple drops of lemon juice. If you drip a ribbon of icing on top of the icing's surface, the ribbon should disappear after you count to 3. This will create the perfect consistency for filling in a cookie. To create lines, thicken with more powdered sugar. I use leftover icing, thicken it and pipe decorations (flowers, cars, dots, etc) onto parchment paper, let it dry overnight and they peel right off ready to put on top of cakes and cupcakes.