A delicate butter drop cookie that is crisp with a hint of almond.  Vanilla or other flavorings can be substituted. 

Ingredients

2 1/4 C flour

1 t salt

1 C butter, softened

3/4 C sugar

1 egg

1 t vanilla extract

1/2 t almond extract

* Food coloring

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 375º F.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Combine flour and salt in small bowl and set aside.

Place softened butter in stand mixer bowl using the flat beater attachment. Beat until fluffy., and then add sugar and repeat process. Hard butter bands around in the mixed and does not whip properly.  Softened butter is room temperature and creamy.  If using the microwave to soften butter, make sure not to melt the butter into a liquid.

Add egg and flavorings. Beat  until ingredients are combined and fluffy. Add flour and mix until incorporated.

Remove beater attachment and bowl from stand mixer. Using spatula remove dough from beater. Scrape remaining flour from sides of bowl and stir vigorously until all incorporated.

Ready to bake or color.

We had an Italian meal planned and wanted a fun dessert.  We divided dough into 3 bowls for plain, red, and green dough. The colors of the Italian flag. We added food coloring until we achieved desired depth of color.

We hand formed the flags and balloons; the remaining dough was made into drop cookies. Bake the cookies 6-8 minutes and remove to baking rack.

Note:

The dough is delicate. When making a spritz cookie, I use more flour for a firmer dough.

The baked cookies are crisp with a hint of almond. We serve them with ice cream and sorbets. They are a year around favorite but more importantly an easy drop cookie to make.