Vanilla bean paste rather than extract, and it is worth the difference. Paste carries the seeds, which means you can see the vanilla in both the dough and the glaze — small dark flecks scattered through something otherwise plain. The quarter teaspoon of almond extract does something harder to describe. On its own it would be obvious. At that amount it simply makes the vanilla taste more like itself.

Pull them while the tops are still pale. A sugar cookie that browns is a sugar cookie that has gone slightly crisp, and the whole point of this one is the soft center.

Ingredients

The dough

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 tbsp vanilla bean paste
¼ tsp pure almond extract
2¾ cups all-purpose flour
¾ tsp baking powder
½ tsp fine sea salt

The glaze

1½ cups confectioners’ sugar
2–3 tbsp whole milk or heavy cream
1 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
½ tsp vanilla bean paste
Small pinch fine sea salt

Method

Beat the softened butter and granulated sugar until pale, creamy, and slightly fluffy, about 2–3 minutes.
Beat in the egg, the extra yolk, the vanilla bean paste, and the almond extract until smooth, scraping down the bowl as needed.
Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together separately, then mix into the butter on low just until a soft dough forms. Do not overmix.
Cover and refrigerate the dough 45 minutes.
Scoop into roughly 1½-tablespoon portions, roll into smooth balls, and flatten each very slightly with your palm.
To bake now: heat the oven to 350°F and arrange the dough two inches apart on parchment-lined sheets. To bake later, see the freezer note below.
Bake 10–13 minutes, until the edges are set and the bottoms are very lightly golden. Keep the tops pale. Cool completely — glaze on a warm cookie will run straight off.
For the glaze, whisk the confectioners’ sugar, 2 tbsp milk or cream, the melted butter, the vanilla bean paste, and the salt until smooth. Add more milk only as needed for a thick but pourable glaze.
Spoon or dip the cooled cookies in a thin layer of glaze. Leave them uncovered until the glaze is fully set, 45–60 minutes, before stacking or boxing.

To freeze: arrange the shaped, unbaked cookies on a parchment-lined tray and freeze until firm, 1–2 hours, then transfer to a bag or container with parchment between the layers. They keep two months. Bake straight from frozen at 350°F, adding a minute or two. Never glaze before freezing.

For a party: shape and freeze the dough ahead, bake from frozen the day before, glaze once the cookies are completely cool, and let them set fully. Stored airtight at cool room temperature overnight, the centers stay soft and the finish stays clean.