Making Stars and Stripes Red, White, and Blue Cookies is an enjoyable process. Follow these easy steps to create your own batch of festive cookies:

1. Preheat Oven: Begin by preheating your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Mix Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set it aside.
3. Cream Butter and Sugar: In a large bowl, cream the softened butter and granulated sugar together until light and fluffy.
4. Add Egg and Extracts: Beat in the egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract (if using), mixing well to combine.
5. Incorporate Dry Ingredients: Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, stirring until fully blended.
6. Divide Dough: Divide the cookie dough evenly into three separate bowls.
7. Color the Dough: Add red food coloring to one bowl, blue food coloring to another, and leave the third bowl plain (white). Mix until the colors are fully incorporated.
8. Chill the Dough: Cover each bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate the colored dough for at least 30 minutes to firm up.
9. Roll Out the Dough: Once chilled, roll each colored dough into sticks or use cookie cutters to make shapes.
10. Layer the Colors: For layered cookies, take pieces of each dough and gently press them together to form a thick layer.
11. Bake the Cookies: Place cookies on the prepared baking sheets and bake for 12-15 minutes until edges are golden.
12. Cool: Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to wire racks to cool completely.
13. Decorate with Icing: Once completely cool, decorate your cookies with royal icing to add a visual pop (use designs like stars, stripes, or other shapes).
14. Allow to Set: Let the decorated cookies sit until the icing hardens completely, which may take 30-45 minutes.

By following these steps, you will craft beautifully decorated cookies that not only look stunning but also taste incredible!