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1
Take out 2 sticks (1 cup) butter and allow to soften to room temperature. (If you want to speed up the process and get to the deliciousness faster, dice it up while cold and spread the chunks out on the bottom of your mixing bowl.)
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2
Once the butter has reached room temperature, add the sugar and cream together on medium speed until light and fluffy.
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3
Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
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4
Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. (Did I mention this is NOT a low-cholesterol/low-fat recipe?)
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5
Pour in the vanilla and mix well. (If you wanted to get a little fancy here, you could substitute the seeds from 1 whole vanilla bean plus 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract.)
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6
In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, and salt). Whisk to combine.
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7
Add half of dry ingredient mixture to the butter/egg mixture and beat on low for about 15 to 30 seconds.
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8
Add the rest of the dry ingredients, beating on low until combined (don't forget to scrape the sides, especially if you're using a Kitchenaid stand mixer-pay special attention to that little hollow in the bottom when scraping).
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9
Cover and refrigerate dough for at least 1 hour. (I like to dump about half the mixture onto some parchment paper, cover it with more parchment paper, and then roll it out, about 1/2-inch thick, while still soft. Tuck the loose ends under the sheet, THEN refrigerate. Repeat with the other half of the dough. It'll set up faster, and no fighting with cold, stiff dough!)
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10
Preheat your oven to 375 F.
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11
Take dough from fridge. If you haven't already, turn it out onto a floured surface (or parchment paper) and roll to your desired thickness. These are meant to be nice and thick, so play around and find a thickness that works for you. I keep it around 1/2-inch.
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12
Cut into your desired shapes. If you don't have a cookie cutter handy, dip a glass into some flour and use the top of it to make pretty rounds.
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13
Bake on cookie sheets for 7 to 10 minutes (until they just start to tan on the edges). If you have silicone liners, I HIGHLY recommend using them. They prevent the bottoms from becoming to crunchy and brown and also keep your cookie sheets clean!
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14
Remove cookies from the oven and place on wire cooling racks. Don't worry if they seem a little underdone; they continue cooking for a little while as they cool, and taking them out at the right time ensures a chewy cookie when they're completely cooled.
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15
Frost cookies (if desired) after completely cooled. Hand out to friends/relatives/co-workers and prepared to be bombarded with repeat requests.
