Buttery and decadent, these butter cookies with vanilla flavor will melt in your mouth leaving you with a feeling of wanting more. The cookies are extremely easy to make and the recipe calls for simple ingredients that you may already have in your kitchen.
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Why you should try this butter cookie recipe
Adjust them to any special occasion. Add food coloring to the cookie dough, pipe these cookies in different shapes and forms, or cover them with sprinkles. These homemade butter cookies are incredibly versatile, making them the perfect treat for any special occasion.
Quick and easy to make. The straightforward process and simple ingredients make these butter cookies an ideal choice when you're short on time but still craving a delicious homemade treat.
Are you looking for more quick and easy cookie recipes? I've got you covered! Check out these Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies, these quick-to-make Lemon Crinkle Cookies, or these chewy Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies.
The difference between sugar cookies and Danish butter cookies
The key distinction between butter cookies and sugar cookies lies in the ratio of flour to butter. Sugar cookies are typically rolled, cut into shapes, and baked with minimal spreading. To achieve this, more flour is added to the dough, creating cookies that maintain their shape and are easy to roll out. Baking powder is also used to give them a tender texture.
On the other hand, butter cookies are shaped by piping the dough onto parchment paper using a piping bag and a nozzle. For this, a softer dough with less flour is required. The tenderness in butter cookies comes from whipping butter with sugar, introducing air into the dough, and creating a soft, tender, melt-in-your-mouth texture.
Ingredients you will need
- Flour – To make this butter cookies recipe, you will need all-purpose flour. Cake flour will work as well and will create more decadent cookies with a softer texture.
- Salt
- Butter – You will need unsalted butter at room temperature.
- Sugar – I use a mix of granulated white sugar and powdered sugar so the butter whips up easier and becomes fluffy.
- Vanilla extract – You can replace it with almond extract or any other extract you prefer.
- Egg – You will need one large egg at room temperature.
Cooking tips
- Don’t overmix the cookie dough. Overmixing can lead to dense and tough cookies. Mix the dough until the ingredients are just combined to create soft cookies with a melt-in-your-mouth texture.
- Use a sturdy piping bag. The cookie dough is a bit dense and can be hard to pipe through a star tip. If you use a very thin piping bag it can break under pressure.
- Chill the cookies well before baking. Chilling the cookie dough before baking helps solidify the fats (like butter) and prevents excessive spreading during baking.
How to make butter cookies
- Prepare two baking sheets lined with parchment paper and a piping bag fitted with an open star piping tip.
- In a bowl, add butter, granulated sugar, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. Beat with a hand mixer (or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment) until light and fluffy.
- Add the egg and beat until well incorporated.
- Sift in flour and salt and mix on low just until no dry ingredients are left.
- Place the butter cookie dough into the piping bag. Pipe 30 rosettes around 1½ ” (4cm) in diameter leaving 1” in between each rosette.
- Freeze the cookies for 20-30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 375F (190C).
- Bake one batch of cookies at a time for 10 minutes or until they start picking up a golden color around the edges.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool down on the tray for 10 minutes. Then, transfer onto a cooling rack to cool down completely.
Flavor variations
- Chocolate – You can replace 2-3 tablespoons of flour with unsweetened cocoa powder to make chocolate butter cookies, or cover completely cooled vanilla cookies with melted chocolate (like I did with my Matcha cookies and Strawberry shortbread cookies) to give them a fancy look and a delicious chocolate flavor.
- Almond – Add 2 tablespoons of blanched almond flour along with ½ teaspoon of almond extract to create delicious cookies with an almond flavor.
- Citrus zest – The easiest way to flavor any cookie with a fresh zesty flavor is to add lemon, orange, or lime zest right into the cookie dough. To maximize the flavor, you can start by mixing granulated sugar with zest to release essential oils. Then, you can whip the butter with this sugar and continue making the cookie dough according to the instructions.
- Cream cheese frosting – Make cookie sandwiches by using a simple cream cheese frosting as the filling.
FAQ
Stored in an air-tight container, these butter cookies will stay fresh for up to 2 weeks.
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and store it in the fridge for up to 4 days. Let the dough soften at room temperature before piping it.
The dough can be frozen for up to 2 months. You can also pipe the cookies and freeze them on a tray until firm. Then, transfer them to an airtight container or resealable bag for long-term storage in the freezer.
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Recipe card
Butter cookies
Equipment
- Digital kitchen scale
- Stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or hand mixer and a large mixing bowl
- Rubber spatula
- Piping bags
- Piping nozzle Wilton 1M or Ateco 827
- Parchment paper
Ingredients
- 250 g all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 170 g unsalted butter at room temperature
- 82 g granulated sugar
- 42 g powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg at room temperature
Instructions
- Prepare two baking sheets lined with parchment paper and a piping bag fitted with an open star tip. I use the Ateco 827 nozzle (for cookies with sharp edges) or the Willton M1 piping nozzle for rose-like shaped cookies.
- In a bowl, add butter, granulated sugar, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. Beat with a hand mixer until light and fluffy.
- Add the egg and beat until well incorporated.
- Sift in flour and salt and mix on low just until no dry ingredients are left. You can also combine everything together using a rubber spatula.
- Place the dough into the piping bag. Pipe 30 rosettes around 1½ ” (4cm) in diameter leaving 1” in between each rosette. Freeze the cookies for 20-30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375F (190C).
- Bake one batch of cookies at a time for 10 minutes or until they start picking up a golden color around the edges. The tops of the cookies should stay pale.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool down on the tray for 10 minutes. Then, transfer onto a cooling rack to cool down completely.
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