Vanilla Butter Cookies

These cookies are somewhat reminiscent of the European butter cookies that come in tins and are so popular at Christmas.  Only better. 

They are homemade slice-and-bake cookies.  Use a piece of plastic wrap to help form them into logs. As you can see, I flattened my logs to make them more of an oval shape, but you could make them perfectly round. I used turbinado (raw) sugar for decorating, but any coarse sugar will work. You could flatten one log as I did and make the other round, then use two different decorating sugars for variation. 

Vanilla Butter Cookies
2 cups flour
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg white
1 tsp. water
Coarse sugar for decorating

Whisk together the flour, powdered sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a medium bowl.  With an electric mixer, beat butter until fluffy. Gradually beat in the granulated sugar and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients in three additions, mixing just until blended each time.  Gather the dough into a ball and divide in half.  Roll each half into a 9-inch log.  Wrap each log tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or up to three days.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and have oven racks in the top third and center positions of the oven.  Brush each log with a mixture of the egg white beaten with a little water.  Slice logs crosswise into 1/4 inch slices, roll each slice in coarse sugar, and place on parchment lined baking sheets about 1/2 inch apart.

Bake for 9 to 10 minutes, rotating pans halfway through baking, just until the cookies turn golden brown at the edges.  Cool on pans for 1 minute, then transfer to racks to cool completely.