Cream the butter and sugar

• Beat the softened butter with the granulated sugar until light and fluffy.
• Add the vanilla extract, almond extract and egg, then beat until fully combined.

Mix the dry ingredients

• Whisk together the flour, salt and baking powder in a separate bowl.

Make the dough

• Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix until a smooth dough forms.
• Do not overmix once the flour is incorporated.

Chill the dough

• Flatten the dough into a disc, wrap it and refrigerate until firm.

Roll and cut out

• Preheat the oven to 180 °C and line a baking tray.
• Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to an even thickness.
• Cut out shapes with cookie cutters and place them on the tray.

Bake the cookies

• Bake until the edges are just set and barely golden.
• Let the cookies cool on the tray for a few minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.

Decorate

• Decorate the cooled cookies with royal icing, buttercream frosting or a powdered sugar glaze.