⁘ anna bakes cupcakes ⁘

2 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more if needed for dough and for rolling out
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 and 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
sprinkles for decorating

Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
In a large bowl, using a handheld mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until smooth, about 1 minute.
Add the granulated sugar and beat on medium-high speed until creamed, about 2 minutes.
Add the egg and vanilla extract, and beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minutes. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed to combine.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low speed until combined. If the dough seems too soft, you can add 1 Tablespoon more flour to make it a better consistency for rolling.
Divide the dough into 2 equal portions. Roll each portion out onto a piece of parchment paper or a lightly floured silicone baking mat to about 1/4 inch thickness. The rolled-out dough can be any shape, as long as it is evenly 1/4 inch thick.
Stack the 2 slabs of dough, with a piece of parchment paper between them, onto a baking sheet and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (and up to 2 days). If chilling for more than 2 hours, cover the top layer of dough with a single piece of parchment paper.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
Remove one of the slabs of dough from the refrigerator and, using a cookie cutter, cut into shapes. Place shapes 3 inches apart on the baking sheets. Reroll the remainder of that slab and continue cutting until all is used.
Repeat with the second slab of dough.
Bake for 10 to 11 minutes, until lightly browned around the edges, rotating the baking sheets halfway through the bake time.
Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating.

In a large bowl, using a handheld mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat all of the ingredients together on high speed for a full 5 minutes.
When lifting the whisk out of the bowl, the icing should drizzle down and smooth out within 10 seconds. If it's too thick, add a teaspoon or 2 of water, as needed. If it's too thin, add 1 or 2 Tablespoons of sifted confectioners' sugar.
Once the cookies are fully cooled, decorate with icing. Let set for 2 to 3 hours.