In a large bowl, cream together butter & icing sugar. Add egg & vanilla extract & mix well.
In a separate bowl, sift together flour & baking powder. Add to the wet mixture a little at a time until well incorporated. Wait approximately 30 minutes before working with the dough as it will firm up slightly.
Roll the dough between baking paper & put it into the fridge for a few hours to help it from spreading. When dough is a bit firmer, take it out of the fridge & cut into butterfly shapes.
Place the cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet & return to fridge again for another 1-2 hours, this will also help prevent spreading.
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Bake cookies for approximately 10 – 12 minutes or until lightly browned on bottoms.
When cookies are completely cooled, personalize them with your favorite icing, colors & design.
Recipe Notes
Allow cookies to cool overnight or at least four hours if you have to decorate right away.
If you can, it is a good idea to wait until the cookies are a day old before decorating them to reduce the chance of oil from the cookie leaching into the icing & causing icing spots or butter bleeds.