Make the base dough

1.  Beat the butter with the powdered sugar and vanilla paste until smooth.
2. Add in the all-purpose flour and mix just until the dough comes together.

Divide and color

1.  Divide the dough into 3 parts.
2. Mix the blue color into one part and the red into another by folding the dough around the color until it is evenly distributed.
3. Divide each of the dough logs into 4.  It’s best to cut them lengthwise since you need to roll them into ropes in the next step.

Roll the pieces

1.  Roll each piece into a rope on a lightly floured surface, about 1/2″ in diameter.
2. Cut these pieces in half.
3. Lightly flour a piece of parchment

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   .
4. Line up the stripes red-white-blue-red-white-blue, leaving a little bit of a gap between each rope. Sprinkle the dough with a little more flour and then place a second piece of parchment

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   over the top.
5. Roll the dough slightly along the stripes and then across the stripes to flatten the dough into dough that is about 1/8″ thick.
6. Pop this parchment

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   package in the freezer for 10 minutes. Repeat this process of rolling the rest of the dough, freezing the second piece of striped dough after rolling.

Cut and bake

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C).
2. Cut out star shapes with whatever star cutters you have. Use a small spatula to lift up the cold dough onto a parchment

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   lined sheet tray.
3. Bake the cookies for 8-9 minutes, rotating the sheet halfway through baking.

Re-roll the scraps

1. With whatever colors you have, unstick the different colored doughs from each other. It’s okay if there’s a little bit of another color sticking to a different one (this will make a marbled effect).
2. Reroll the colors into ropes and roll them out again to cut more stars, chilling before you bake. You should be able to do this about twice before you run out of dough.  Bake the rest of the cookies as the rest.
3. Cookies can be stored at room temperature in a closed container for up to a week or frozen in plastic bags for up to 3 months.