Basic Butter Cookies

Here is a recipe for basic butter cookies. This one is my trusted recipe which I always keep handy. It's versatile, in that if you make one measure of this cookie dough, you can make several different flavour combinations.
As you can see in the picture, these were for a birthday hence the writing and smiley.

Ingredients :
250g Unsalted butter
1 Cup plain sugar
2 1/2 cups All purpose flour / Maida
Salt to taste

Method :

Cream the butter and sugar till the butter changes colour (looks paler than when you started)
Add the flour little at a time making sure the batter is getting mixed as you go along. Add the salt.
As you add the flour, the batter will thicken and you will need to use your hands to mix it. Ensure that all the flour gets incorporated. The result should be a soft pliable dough.

Divide the dough into tiny balls about 1 inch in diameter. Gently flatten them on the palm of your hand while leaving them about 1/2 cm thick.
Line a baking tray with baking paper. Space the cookies about 2-3 cm apart, just so they don't stick together once they get cooking.

Preheat oven to 175 degrees C (if using fan-forced oven). Check the conversion for temperature in degrees F and for gas mark.
Make an imprint on the surface of each cookie (I have used a fork) so that the cookie doesn't puff up.
Place the tray in the middle rack of your oven.

The time required for the cookies to get done will vary from oven to oven. It will take between 20-25 mins. Go by the colour though. A 'gold - very pale brown' colour is what we are aiming for. Once you have got that, remove the tray from the oven and transfer cookies to a cooling rack.

At this stage the cookies may feel slightly soft to touch. As they cool down they loose the soft touch and become crispy. The colour also darkens a little once the cookies are out of the oven (hence the 'gold-very pale brown')
Totally depends on the size of dough quantity you take to roll as to how many cookies this measure makes.

Hope you enjoy making them as much as I enjoyed bringing it to you!!