Chef Viviani's Sugar Cookies

I have to get this off my chest. I've been bad, very.. very.. bad. Yup, I'd been rolling in materialism. In the pursuit of acquiring things, in the process of placing them at various places in the kitchen and admiring them shamelessly. Kitchen possessions never meant much to me as it is sort of a work place if you think about it. Now, a reading nook with ample sunlight is something to talk about. But, but...redoing our kitchen awoke something in me and I find myself constantly on the lookout for things for the kitchen. Thankfully I can feel it coming to an end. Till then I will be enjoying my worldly kitchen possessions with pride and glee:-)

On the other hand Chef Fabio Viviani's cooking show is all about making good Italian food and not at all about materialism. Most recipes seem loaded but he is very engaging and we end up wanting to try a few of those seemingly simple recipes. One such recipe was for this sugar cookie. The perfect opportunity presented itself when one of my daughter's friends came over for a playdate during the much relaxing Easter break.

What is good about the sugar cookies is how easy they are to make. Their uses are many fold! For bowling over your friendly neighbor's grandkids, as a warm welcome gift to our new neighbor lady on the other side and to get the most important customers in your own household jumping with joy. Don't let the simple appearance fool you. These old fashioned treats are indeed a treat. You find yourself reaching for another one after telling yourself the first one tasting sooo good must be a fluke. Recipe follows from Chef Viviani's site. They are called Mama's Sugar Cookies. Yields 4 dozen. In the comments there was a discussion about the quantity of baking powder and soda being swapped. So I swapped when I made them as it made more sense to have more baking powder than soda and is listed here as I made.

In The Mix
Almost exact copy from the Yahoo Shine site except pics which are mine.

2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
1/3 tsp. baking soda
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 egg

2 tsp. vanilla extract

How To Do

Preheat oven to 350F.
In a small bowl, mix flour, baking soda, and baking powder with a whisk and set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth with a hand or stand mixer.
Beat in egg and vanilla until well combined.
Add the dry ingredients in two parts, mixing thoroughly between each addition. I am finding that adding ingredients is a piece of cake with a stand mixer. Hands free!
Mix the dough until the dough pulls away from the edges of the bowl.
Place dough on on a floored surface.

Roll dough into one large log and wrap in plastic wrap and chill to firm for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes slice into ½ inch cookies.

Place sliced cookies on baking sheet.
Bake 8 minutes, and rotate the pan, then bake another 8 min. in the preheated oven, or until golden.
Let stand for a few minutes to make it easier to handle before removing to fully cool.

Store in a an air-tight cookie jar and enjoy whenever you feel like having a good relaxed time. I dip'em in coffee sometimes to honor an old habit from childhood and they taste oh so delicious and homey!