- 1/2 pound unsalted butter, softened, cut into pieces
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 egg yolk, large
- 1 large whole egg
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 pinch ground cloves
- In an electric mixer, beat the butter, sugar, salt and vanilla until light and creamy. Add the egg and mix together.
- In a separate bowl, mix the flour with the cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice and clove. Add in the flour and spice mixture to the whipped butter in three separate stages until just combined. Stop only to scrape the sides of the bowl as needed with a spatula. Remove dough from the mixer and wrap in plastic wrap. Flatten into a disc and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes, preferably overnight.
- Place oven racks equal distance apart in middle of oven. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Working with 1/4 of the dough at a time, roll it out on a lightly floured surface to 1/8 inch thick. Using a spatula, loosen the dough and sprinkle surface lightly with additional flour as necessary.
- Cut desired shapes and place 1 inch apart on a baking sheet. Bake cookies for 10 to 12 minutes, rotating pan at the halfway point for even browning. Transfer cookies to a rack to cool. Once cooled, you can decorate the cookies with colored sugars or icing.