1
["Preheat oven to 350 F.", "", "In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, spices, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. I use a fork to stir it around.", "", "In a medium large bowl cream together butter, sugars, and vanilla. Rather than dirty up a whisk or beaters, I just do this with a rubber spatula.", "", "Divide the dough in half. On a large piece of plastic wrap, pat each half into a thinnish rectangle. Chill for ~15 minutes.", "", "Roll out each piece of dough on wax paper or parchment paper. Try to make as regular a rectangle as possible. Aim for between 1/8"" and 1/4"". Personally, I like them thin.", "", "Cut into desired shapes. I like rectangles so using a clean smooth plastic ruler, I lay it across the dough and cut with a pizza cutter. The width of my ruler is perfect for the width of the cookie, probably ~1 1/4"". Cross-cut at 2"" intervals. Because I live in a warm climate, I have to refrigerate the dough after this step or the cut cookie dough deforms when moving to the baking sheet. Pop the rolled and cut dough into the refrigerator for ~10-15 minutes.", "", "Bake on a half sheet pan with a Silpat mat or parchment. Space the cookies an inch or so apart. Bake for ~13-15 minutes. Wait a few minutes then move the cookies to a cooling rack. Store in an airtight container. They will be very crisp.", "", "These cookies are very amenable to stamping, molding, or other pressed designs."]
