Poppy Seed Shortbreads

Directions

1. 1
   Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 350F.
2. 2
   Beat together butter, sugar, vanilla, and salt in a bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
3. 3
   Reduce speed to low, then add flour and poppy seeds and mix until just combined.
4. 4
   Transfer dough to plastic bag and pat out dough to size of bag.
5. 5
   Press out excess air and seal bag.
6. 6
   Roll out dough with a rolling pin to flatten evenly and to fill bag (dough will be about 1/4 inch thick).
7. 7
   Freeze dough on a baking sheet until firm, at least 20 minutes.
8. 8
   Open bag and cut apart along seams, reserving bag for rolling scraps.
9. 9
   Cut out as many ovals as possible with cookie cutter, reserving scraps, and transfer to 2 ungreased large baking sheets, arranging about 1/2 inch apart.
10. 10
    Bake cookies, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until edges are golden, 16 to 20 minutes total.
11. 11
    Cool cookies on sheets on racks 5 minutes, then transfer with a spatula to racks to cool completely.
12. 12
    Gather and reroll scraps using reserved plastic bag (to keep dough from sticking), then cut out and bake more cookies in same manner.