Not going to lie. The summer heat as well as the return to work after confinement have been brutal, which explains why I’ve been somewhat apathetic lately, during my free time. I’ve said it again and again, I am not a summer person. And despite all my best effort, making plans, organizing activities, dressing lists of cakes to bake, I usually end up cancelling everything due to the weigh of the summer heat and scorching sun. So this explains why I’ve been MIA for the past few weeks. But, at some point, one must give oneself a good kick in the butt and get moving. Having no more shows to watch on TV is also a great motivator.
Having no AC makes it very difficult to bake during heatwaves. That’s why I’ve been more focused on making ice creams, but I started having a major craving for something rich, buttery, with a bite, that I couldn’t shake off. Nothing fancy. Just something quick and easy to make that doesn’t require me getting dressed to go to the market. My options were limited as I didn’t have any eggs or dairy in my pantry, and I was running low on granulated sugar. I did, however, have lots of butter and flour. Butter cookies were then the first idea that popped in my head and I went with it.
This is as simple as it can get: a 3-ingredient no hassle cookie recipe.
A lot of butter cookie recipe instruct you to roll out the dough and use a cookie cutter. Since I have a small kitchen with very limited counter space, I prefer to roll the dough into a sausage shape and cut it into slices. Though this technique is less messy, it does require more attention to detail as the slices should all be of the same size for the cookies to bake evenly. For this recipe, depending on your preferences, you pick either technique.
Simple butter cookies
Makes between 12 and 16, depending on thickness.
ingredients
1 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 cups flour
directions
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix sugar and butter at medium speed, until light and fluffy, 2 minutes.
Sift in flour and continue mixing until the mixture forms a dough.
Place the dough in a plastic wrap and roll it into a sausage shape.
Refrigerate for at least an hour.
Preheat oven at 350.
Prepare a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and remove the wrap.
Place the sausage-shaped dough on a cutting board and cut into slices approximately 5 mm (1/4 inch) thick.
Place slices on prepared baking sheets and bake for 16 minutes, or until the cookies are golden brown.
Let cool on baking sheets a few minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.
And that’s it! You now have at least a dozen super buttery, crumbly cookies to satisfy your cravings!
Of course, from now on, there are numerous variations that you could have fun with, like adding chocolate chips, nuts and/or dried fruits, dipping the cookies in chocolate or decorating them with royal icing. If you like coffee flavors, follow this exact recipe, but add a little bit of espresso (2 tbsp of espresso powder dissolved into 1 tsp of hot water) right after step 1. You can also enhance flavors by adding some vanilla or almond extract (1 tsp for vanilla, 1/2 tsp for almond extract).
In my case, since I had some strawberry ice cream in my refrigerator, I decided to make some very decadent ice cream sandwiches! They were amazing. They hit all the right notes.
Enjoy!