These cookies are generally more labor-intensive and time-consuming than most of our recipes. Cookie dough that needs to be rolled out like a pie crust usually needs to be chilled to make it firmer for rolling. After chilling, roll out the dough with a lightly floured rolling pin on a lightly floured surface.
Use as little flour as possible; too much will toughen the dough. You should roll out and use all of the freshest dough first, saving all scraps for re-rolling at the end. Otherwise, the scraps will toughen the remaining dough. If you are splitting the dough to use one half at a time, keep the unused portion refrigerated until you are ready to roll it.
Although many of the cookies are time-consuming, you can usually split the process into two days. You can mix the dough, refrigerate it overnight, and then finish the cookies the next day.
If using cookie cutters, dust them with a little flour to reduce sticking. I remember my grandmother using the top lip of a juice glass to cut circles from cookie dough. It’s not a bad idea if you don’t want to invest in a lot of different-size cookie cutters.