In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter, sugar, and salt until pale and fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla and almond extract. Gradually mix in the flour until combined.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll out the dough to 1/4 inch in thickness. Cut out into whatever shapes you desire. Chill cookies in freezer for 15 minutes (this ensures they stay their shape!)
Bake the cookies for 10 - 12 minutes, until the edges of the cookies turn slightly golden.
Let cookies cool for 5 minutes before removing them to cool on a wire rack.
Sparkly sugar cookies: apply a thin coat of egg wash and sprinkle cookies with coarse sanding sugar before baking
Hedgehog cookies: decorate with royal icing
Linzer cookies: fill each cookie with 1/4 teaspoon of jam of choice then dust with powdered sugar
Royal Icing
Mix together all the ingredients in a large bowl. Transfer icing into pastry bag with a piping tip. I like piping tip #1 - 3 for decorating sugar cookies.
Decorate cookies and let dry fully before stacking.