Butter cookies-- also known as Dutch biscuits-- are deliciously crisp cookies made from butter, sugar, and a few other things. At their most basic, the biscuits have no extra flavoring, although they are often flavored with vanilla and chocolate. You can find them in a variety of shapes and appearances, including marbled, checkered or plain. In the Americas, these cookies are often served around Christmas time; in Europe, however, these biscuits are enjoyed all the time!

[edit] Ingredients

250 gr. self rising flour or 125 gram corn flour and 125 gram self rising flour
6 eggs
250 gr. soft butter
250 gr. sugar
A pinch of salt

[edit] Steps

Preheat the oven to 180° Celsius.
Stir the butter in a bowl until it's soft, and add a pinch of salt.
Add the sugar to the mixture and stir until the mixture becomes smooth.
Add eggs; make sure you add them one by one.
Mix in the self rising flour; use a spoon or a fork to mix, but only until a dough forms.
Knead the dough for 15 minutes, or until the dough is steady and smooth. If the dough is still a bit sticky you can add a bit flour.
Sprinkle a bit flour on the table or board, and begin rolling the dough out; aim to roll the dough to a 5mm thickness.
Grease a baking tray and sprinkle a little bit flour on it until it's completely covered with flour.
Press cookie-cutters into the dough. Try to cut as many cookies as you can, using different shaped cutters if necessary.
Lay the cookies in rows on the baking tray, leaving room between each cookie. Remember that these cookies will expand in the oven, and if they're placed to close together, they'll stick to one another. Sprinkle some sugar over the cookies before placing in the oven.
Put the baking tray in the oven for about 15-20 minutes. These cookies cook very quickly, so keep an eye on your oven!
Allow the finished cookies to cool.

[edit] Tips

Oven times vary. The times given in this recipe are just guidelines.
Always have some extra flour handy, just in case your dough becomes too runny.
That being said, have some extra water handy, in case your dough becomes to dry.
You can add extra flavor to the cookies by using vanilla sugar instead of regular sugar.
If you haven't any self-rising flour, you can use the same amount of white flour and one small packet of instant yeast.

[edit] Warnings

These cookies bake very quickly; you must keep an eye on the over to avoid disaster!
Use oven mitts when taking the cookies out of the oven.
The cookies break very easily, especially hot ones.