Hi Carol, cool dough is often recommended when it comes to working with cut out cookies because as the dough warms up it becomes stickier and stickier. Of course, dough that is hard from the refrigerator brings its own challenges. It won't hurt to let the dough sit out for 15-30 minutes or so, and then tap the dough with your rolling pin, which will make the butter more pliable without warming it up too much. As you begin rolling, apply pressure gradually, as too much force early on will tend to make the dough crack. If you find the dough is getting too warm, wrapping it up and placing it back in the refrigerator briefly can work wonders. When I'm making cut out cookies I often divide the dough into smaller disks when I put it in the refrigerator. Working with smaller amounts of dough means the dough isn't as likely to get too warm, and smaller hunks of dough will become pliable and easy to work with a little faster than a large hunk of dough.  Happy cookie making! 

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