Vanilla Bean Sugar Cookies (why vanilla beans are my fav)

I am pretty sure you can add vanilla beans into anything and it would be delicious...

I mean come on, who would choose imitation vanilla over the heavenly scent and flavor of vanilla beans?!? If you're sitting there thinking man, I have never had these fabled beans before well then I highly suggest insist that you do so as soon as possible. While they are on the pricey side, if you ever happen to come across a Cost Plus World Market, they sell them for an astonishing $2.99 for a pack of two which is an amazzzinngg price, needless to say I bought five and I intend to put vanilla beans in allll the things!

I never realized just how good a sugar cookie can be until it was sprinkled with vanilla bean sugar (aka magic dust). It truly took these cookies to the next level, they're slightly crisp yet chewy with a warm and comforting vanilla goodness.

In case you were wondering here are some other awesome things you can do with vanilla beans.
-Take a bunch of vanilla beans, cover them in vodka, let soak and BOOM you have vanilla extract!
-Make a vanilla bean syrup and use it to flavor coffee, frostings, cakes, etc.
-Vanilla sugar (listed below) simply mix contents of bean with sugar. This is also really good atop a creme brulee.


Vanilla Bean Sugar Cookies

makes 36 cookies

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup softened butter
1 3/4 cups white sugar
1 tsp salt
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 to 4 TBS buttermilk

for vanilla sugar...

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 a vanilla bean, split and scraped

Directions:

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2.In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.

3.In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Gradually blend in dry ingredients. Add enough of the buttermilk to moisten the dough and make it soft, not wet.

4.Roll rounded teaspoon of dough into balls and carefully roll the top of each cookie in the vanilla sugar, then place sugar side up on a lightly greased cookie sheet, flattening the top of each cookie slightly. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until slightly golden. Let stand for 2 minutes before removing to cool on a rack.