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1
Whisk together flour and salt in a small bowl.
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2
Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes in a standing mixer (preferably fitted with paddle attachment) or 6 minutes with a handheld, then beat in egg and vanilla.
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3
Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture, mixing until just combined.
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4
Form dough into 2 balls and flatten each into a 6-inch disk.
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5
Chill disks, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 1 hour.
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6
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350F.
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7
Roll out 1 piece of dough (keep remaining dough chilled) into an 81/2-inch round (1/4 inch thick) on a well-floured surface with a well-floured rolling pin.
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8
(If dough becomes too soft to roll out, rewrap in plastic and chill until firm.)
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9
Cut out as many cookies as possible from dough with cutters and transfer to 2 ungreased large baking sheets, arranging about 1 inch apart.
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10
Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until edges are golden, 10 to 12 minutes, then transfer with a metal spatula to racks to cool completely.
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11
Gather scraps and chill until dough is firm enough to reroll, 10 to 15 minutes.
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12
Make more cookies with remaining dough and scraps (reroll only once) in same manner on cooled baking sheets.
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13
For each color (you can make up to 7), transfer 1/4 cup icing to a separate small bowl and tint with food coloring.
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14
Snip off 1 corner of each plastic bag to create a 1/4-inch opening, then spoon each color icing into a bag, pressing out excess air.
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15
Twist each bag firmly just above icing, then decoratively pipe (or spread) colored icing onto cookies.
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16
Let icing dry completely (about 1 hour, depending on humidity) before storing cookies.
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17
*Wilton Paste Food Coloring available at wilton.com.
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18
**Available at some bakeware shops and Sweet Celebrations (800-328-6722).
