1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla bean paste, or vanilla extract
For the glaze:
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp peppermint extract
milk to thin
For decorating:
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup sparkling sugar
Preheat oven to 350F. In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, or by hand, cream together the butter and sugar until fully mixed. Add the flour, salt, and vanilla bean paste, and mix until the dough comes together. It may be quite soft. Place the dough in a covered bowl or a plastic ziplock bag and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Roll out the chilled dough on a lightly floured surface until its about 1/4 inch thick. Cut out the cookies using a round biscuit or cookie cutter. I used both a 2 inch and a 2 1/2 inch round cutter. Place the cookies on an unlined baking sheet, and bake 7-10 minutes. They will still be very pale and soft, but should firm up as they cool. Allow the cookies to cool completely before glazing. To make the glaze, whisk together the powdered sugar with a little milk or cream until it's smooth. Add the peppermint extract and whisk together. I found I liked 1/2 tsp of peppermint extract in my glaze, but if you're worried about it being too strong, start with 1/4 tsp and taste it to see what you think. Carefully dip each cooled cookie in the glaze (I like to transfer the glaze to a shallow bowl here). Allow the excess to drip off and place the cookies on a cooling rack or a tray to dry. If you are having a hard time lifting the cookies out of the glaze without breaking them, try thinning the glaze a bit with more milk. Allow the glaze to mostly dry before coating in the sugars. If it is too wet, the sugar will just sink right in. If you think you waited too long and the glaze is too set, try very gently patting the sugar on top, it should stick. If you catch it right in between, you should be able to sprinkle the sugar on top and have it coat the cookie nicely. For me, this was about 5-7 minutes of waiting before sprinkling with sugar.