recipe from joythebaker.com

3 cups all purpose flour

3/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 egg, beaten 

1 Tablespoon milk

 1.  Sift together flour, baking powder and salt.  Set aside.

2.  Beat together butter and sugar in an electric mixer until light in color.  Add egg and milk to the mixture and beat until well combined.  

3.  With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the flour, mixing until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.  

 4.  Divide the dough in half and stain with gel food coloring if desired.  Wrap in wax paper and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

 5.  Preheat oven to 375.

 6.  Remove one package of dough from the refrigerator at a time.  Sprinkle your work surface and a rolling pin with powdered sugar.  Roll the dough to 1/4'', rotating the dough around the work surface, making sure it doesn't stick.

7.  Cut dough into desired shapes and place on a greased cookie sheet, or a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat.  Brush with a bit of beaten egg and milk before sprinkling with sugar in the raw or sanding sugar.  

8.  Bake for 7-9 minutes, rotating the pan half way through baking.  Remove from the oven when cookies have barely started to brown on the edges.  If you're not using a silicone mat or parchment paper, I like to remove the cookies from the pan when they are still very warm.  This will ensure they won't cool and stick to the pan.  Just be careful, they'll be a bit fragile.  

 You can decorate these beauties any way you'd like.  I used sugar in the raw, and a simple powdered sugar glaze- 3 cups powdered sugar and 2-3 Tablespoons of lemon juice or milk.  Add more liquid depending on how thick you'd like the glaze.  Royal icing is also a great decorating tool.