"Once you finish eating one, you're immediately going to want another!" the consulting pastry chef at Old John's Diner in New York City says about her soft, buttery and "hypnotic looking" sugar cookies

"Once you finish eating one, you're immediately going to want another!" Tanya Ngangan says about her soft, buttery and "hypnotic looking" cookies.

The consulting pastry chef at Old John's Diner in New York City shares a "versatile" sugar cookie recipe that is great for July 4th with the red, white and blue colors but can also be delicious for any other day of the year.

"This recipe is good for home cooks because there aren't many ingredients, and you most likely already have most of them in your pantry," she says. "It's a blank canvas that is very versatile. For example, you can easily sub vanilla extract out for almond or lemon extract."

Beat together sugar and butter in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, on medium speed, until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg and vanilla; beat on low until combined, about 15 seconds. Gradually add flour, salt and baking powder; beat on low until just combined, about 30 seconds. Divide dough into 3 equal portions.

Shape one portion of dough into a rectangle; place in between two pieces of plastic wrap.

Return second portion of dough to mixer, and add red gel color. Beat on low until just combined, 15 seconds (do not overmix). Shape red dough into a rectangle and place between two pieces of plastic wrap.

Wipe bowl of mixer clean; place third portion of dough into mixer, and add blue gel color. Beat on low until just combined, 15 seconds (do not overmix). Shape blue dough into a rectangle, and place between two pieces of plastic wrap. Chill all dough rectangles for 2 hours.

Keeping dough between the sheets of plastic wrap, roll out each portion of dough to a 6x7-inch rectangle (a little less than ¼-inch thick). Chill 30 minutes.

Peel off top layer of plastic wrap from blue dough, leaving the bottom layer of plastic wrap on. Carefully remove all plastic wrap from white dough, and stack white dough on top of blue dough. Remove all plastic wrap from red dough, and stack on top of white dough. Press gently to adhere the pieces, and trim edges so that they are straight and evenly layered. Starting from a short edge, use plastic wrap on bottom of stack to roll dough tightly into a log, peeling plastic away as you roll. Wrap log in a fresh piece of plastic wrap; freeze until firm, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350°. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Unwrap dough, and trim ends of log. Cut dough crosswise into ½-inch-thick slices. Arrange slices on baking sheets 3 inches apart. Bake in oven until pale golden and still slightly soft, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool cookies on baking sheets 5 minutes; transfer to a rack to cool completely.

"It's super important to let the dough chill in the refrigerator until firm," says Ngangan. "Baking very cold dough will help prevent the cookies from spreading too much in the oven."