And the winner is…

cream butter and sugar in a mixing bowl

add eggs and extract mixing until blended

add flour in several additions

scraping the bowl in between each addition

when the dough is thoroughly blended

flatten each section slightly into a disc shape. cover in plastic wrap and keep in the refrigerator until ready to use

unwrap one of the dough discs and place between two of parchment paper

remove the top of parchment paper and use a statue cutter and a round cutter to cut shapes

then cut an opening in the middle of the round cookie and remove the excess dough from the center

the openings should be slightly larger than the cookie cutter bottom

leave the cut cookie shapes on the bottom of parchment paper and transfer to your baking

repeat rolling and cutting cookie pairs until your baking is full. bake cookies

when you remove from the oven

let cool completely. when cool

use a rolling pin