To prepare Baby Buttons, which are delicate and contain very few ingredients, use the best unsalted butter you can find.

To flavor the cookies, add ground cinnamon or ginger to the confectioners’ sugar you toss them in after baking.

To make mini cookie sandwiches, flatten the dough balls before baking. Spread jam, melted chocolate or peanut butter between two cookies.

To freeze the baked cookies, layer them between sheets of wax paper or parchment in an airtight tin, then thaw in the tin before serving.

Published March 2008