Servings: Makes about forty 2 ½-inch cookies

Wet ingredients Wet ingredients
1 Large egg 1 Large egg
1 tsp Vanilla extract 1 tsp Vanilla extract
3/4 tsp Salt ¾ tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Almond extract ¼ tsp Almond extract
 
Dry ingredients Dry ingredients
2 1/2 cups AP Flour 2 ½ cups AP Flour
1/4 tsp Baking powder ¼ tsp Baking powder
1/4 tsp Baking soda ¼ tsp Baking soda
 
1 cup Sugar, process 30 secs till super fine 1 cup Sugar, process 30 secs till super fine
16 T Butter, super chilled 1/2” cubes 16 T Butter, super chilled ½” cubes

Whisk wet ingredients.
Whisk dry ingredients.
To food processor add sugar process 30 seconds till super fine. Add butter. Process 30 seconds till combined.
Add liquid ingredients to processor. Process 10 seconds.
Add dry ingredients to processor. Process 30 seconds until crumbly. Knead briefly to bring dough together. Split dough ball in half.
On parchment press each dough half by hand to 7X9” oval. Top with 2nd sheet of parchment roll And press out to ⅛th inch thick. About a 10X14” oval.
Stack parchments on cookie sheet and chill about 1 ½ hours.
First peel off top layer of parchment. Then put it back on. Flip and peel off top parchment. Discard.
Cut out as many cookies as possible. Reroll leftover dough and chill again before cutting more cookies.
Bake 300°F on lower middle rack for 14 to 17 minutes rotating halfway through till lightly browned.
Rest for 5 minutes then remove to rack to cool.
Decorate with royal icing.
Royal Icing
2 ⅔ cup Powdered sugar
2 large egg whites
½ tsp vanilla extract
⅛ tsp salt
Start on med low till comes together. About 1 minute. Then move to med high until nice soft peaks. About 3 minutes.

To flood with royal frosting take 1/2 cup royal frosting stir in 1 tsp milk.  To flood with royal frosting take ½ cup royal frosting stir in 1 tsp milk.
1 large egg  1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract  1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ teaspoon salt  ¾ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon almond extract  ¼ teaspoon almond extract
2 ½ cups (12 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour  2 ½ cups (12 ½ ounces) all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon baking powder  ¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda  ¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (7 ounces) granulated sugar  1 cup (7 ounces) granulated sugar
16 tablespoons unsalted butter,  16 tablespoons unsalted butter,
cut into 1/2-inch pieces and chilled  cut into ½-inch pieces and chilled
Royal Icing  Royal Icing
2 ⅔ cups (10 2/3 ounces) confectioners' sugar  2 ⅔ cups (10 ⅔ ounces) confectioners' sugar
2 large egg whites  2 large egg whites
½ teaspoon vanilla extract  ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
⅛ teaspoon salt  ⅛ teaspoon salt
* BEFORE YOU BEGIN  * BEFORE YOU BEGIN
For the dough to have the proper consistency when rolling, make sure to use cold butter directly from the refrigerator. In step 3, use a rolling pin and a combination of rolling and a pushing or smearing motion to form the soft dough into an oval. A rimless cookie sheet helps achieve evenly baked cookies; if you do not have one, use an overturned rimmed baking sheet. Dough scraps can be combined and rerolled once, though the cookies will be slightly less tender. If desired, stir 1 or 2 drops of food coloring into the icing. For a pourable icing, whisk in milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, until the desired consistency is reached. You can also decorate the shapes with sanding sugar or sprinkles before baking.  For the dough to have the proper consistency when rolling, make sure to use cold butter directly from the refrigerator. In step 3, use a rolling pin and a combination of rolling and a pushing or smearing motion to form the soft dough into an oval. A rimless cookie sheet helps achieve evenly baked cookies; if you do not have one, use an overturned rimmed baking sheet. Dough scraps can be combined and rerolled once, though the cookies will be slightly less tender. If desired, stir 1 or 2 drops of food coloring into the icing. For a pourable icing, whisk in milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, until the desired consistency is reached. You can also decorate the shapes with sanding sugar or sprinkles before baking.
INSTRUCTIONS  INSTRUCTIONS
1. FOR THE COOKIES: Whisk egg, vanilla, salt, and almond extract together in small bowl. Whisk flour, baking powder, and baking soda together in second bowl.  1. FOR THE COOKIES: Whisk egg, vanilla, salt, and almond extract together in small bowl. Whisk flour, baking powder, and baking soda together in second bowl.
2. Process sugar in food processor until finely ground, about 30 seconds. Add butter and process until uniform mass forms and no large pieces of butter are visible, about 30 seconds, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add egg mixture and process until smooth and paste-like, about 10 seconds. Add flour mixture and process until no dry flour remains but mixture remains crumbly, about 30 seconds, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.  2. Process sugar in food processor until finely ground, about 30 seconds. Add butter and process until uniform mass forms and no large pieces of butter are visible, about 30 seconds, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add egg mixture and process until smooth and paste-like, about 10 seconds. Add flour mixture and process until no dry flour remains but mixture remains crumbly, about 30 seconds, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
3. Turn out dough onto counter and knead gently by hand until smooth, about 10 seconds. Divide dough in half. Place 1 piece of dough in center of large sheet of parchment paper and press into 7 by 9-inch oval. Place second large sheet of parchment over dough and roll dough into 10 by 14-inch oval of even 1/8-inch thickness. Transfer dough with parchment to rimmed baking sheet. Repeat pressing and rolling with second piece of dough, then stack on top of first piece on sheet. Refrigerate until dough is firm, at least 1 1/2 hours (or freeze for 30 minutes). (Rolled dough can be wrapped in plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 5 days.)  3. Turn out dough onto counter and knead gently by hand until smooth, about 10 seconds. Divide dough in half. Place 1 piece of dough in center of large sheet of parchment paper and press into 7 by 9-inch oval. Place second large sheet of parchment over dough and roll dough into 10 by 14-inch oval of even ⅛-inch thickness. Transfer dough with parchment to rimmed baking sheet. Repeat pressing and rolling with second piece of dough, then stack on top of first piece on sheet. Refrigerate until dough is firm, at least 1 ½ hours (or freeze for 30 minutes). (Rolled dough can be wrapped in plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 5 days.)
4. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Line rimless cookie sheet with parchment. Working with 1 piece of rolled dough, gently peel off top layer of parchment. Replace parchment, loosely covering dough. (Peeling off parchment and returning it will make cutting and removing cookies easier.) Turn over dough and parchment and gently peel off and discard second piece of parchment. Using cookie cutter, cut dough into shapes. Transfer shapes to prepared cookie sheet, spacing them about 1/2 inch apart. Bake until cookies are lightly and evenly browned around edges, 14 to 17 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking. Let cookies cool on sheet for 5 minutes. Using wide metal spatula, transfer cookies to wire rack and let cool completely. Repeat cutting and baking with remaining dough. (Dough scraps can be patted together, rerolled, and chilled once before cutting and baking.)  4. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Line rimless cookie sheet with parchment. Working with 1 piece of rolled dough, gently peel off top layer of parchment. Replace parchment, loosely covering dough. (Peeling off parchment and returning it will make cutting and removing cookies easier.) Turn over dough and parchment and gently peel off and discard second piece of parchment. Using cookie cutter, cut dough into shapes. Transfer shapes to prepared cookie sheet, spacing them about ½ inch apart. Bake until cookies are lightly and evenly browned around edges, 14 to 17 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking. Let cookies cool on sheet for 5 minutes. Using wide metal spatula, transfer cookies to wire rack and let cool completely. Repeat cutting and baking with remaining dough. (Dough scraps can be patted together, rerolled, and chilled once before cutting and baking.)
5. FOR THE ROYAL ICING: Using stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, whip all ingredients on medium-low speed until combined, about 1 minute. Increase speed to medium-high and whip until glossy, soft peaks form, 3 to 4 minutes, scraping down bowl as needed.  5. FOR THE ROYAL ICING: Using stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, whip all ingredients on medium-low speed until combined, about 1 minute. Increase speed to medium-high and whip until glossy, soft peaks form, 3 to 4 minutes, scraping down bowl as needed.
6. Spread icing onto cooled cookies. Let icing dry completely, about 1/2 hours, before serving.  6. Spread icing onto cooled cookies. Let icing dry completely, about ½ hours, before serving.