Butter Cookies
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These vanilla Danish Butter Cookies are buttery, crisp, and melt-in-your-mouth. They taste good eaten plain or enjoy them with a cup of coffee or tea.
Remember those tins of cookies, filled with crispy, cumbly Butter Cookies. They are delicious eaten at any time of the year and are a staple during holidays.
This homemade version is far better than what you will find in the tins at the store. They are light and not too sweet, with lots of amazing butter flavour and a melt-in-your-mouth consistency that will have you coming back for more.
Butter Cookies Ingredients
These cookies have a super simple list of ingredients. It is all about combining them with the right ratio to give them that ultra-buttery, crisp, yet tender quality that we love.
- Unsalted butter. Since these are butter cookies, you will need butter, of course! The butter flavor shines. Therefore, I recommend using a high-quality butter.
- Confectioners’ sugar. To sweeten the cookies. The confectioners’ sugar will give the cookies the tender and melt-in-your-mouth texture.
- Egg yolk. I only add the egg yolk because it adds richness and tenderness with less spread.
- Vanilla extract. To enhance the flavour.
- Cake flour. Cake flour is a lower-protein flour. It has about 7-9% protein compared to the 10-12% protein in all-purpose flour. Using cake flour will make the cookies crisper, lighter, and more tender. You can also substitute cake flour with all-purpose flour, but the cookies will turn a little bit denser.
- Cornstarch. Cornstarch makes the cookies very tender and prevents them from spreading.
- Salt. To taste.
Baking Tips
- Use high-quality butter. The type of butter you use is very important. I recommend using a high-quality butter with high fat content for these cookies/
- Use room temperature butter. It refers to soft and pliable butter, but still cool to touch. There should be an indent when you press with your finger.
- Measure your flour correctly. Adding too much flour to the recipe is the most common mistake. The best and easiest way to measure flour is by using a scale. If you still insist on using volume measurement, make sure to fluff your flour and spoon it into your measuring cup. Then, use a knife to level it off.
- Add more milk if your dough is too hard. Finding the right consistency of cookie dough is very crucial for butter cookies since you need it to be creamy enough to pipe. I find the recipe ratio is perfect for me, but if your dough is too hard to pipe, try adding a teaspoon of milk to the dough. Don’t add too much, though, because the cookies will spread a lot if you do so.
- Make small cookies rather than large cookies. If you make your swirls smaller or larger, the cookies will need to bake for less or more time.
- Use a cookie press to shape the cookies. If you are not confident about your piping skills, you can alternatively use a cookie press to shape these cookies.
- Chill the cookies before baking. I highly recommend chilling the piped dough in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. This will help them retain their shape with less spreading.
Best Piping Tips to Use
The best piping tips for butter cookies are large, open star tips (such as Ateco #828 and Wilton 1M, 6B, 8B). These, with a roughly 1/2-inch opening, allow thick dough to pass through easily while creating defined, ridged shapes. Closed star tips can be used, but require more force.
If you are not confident about your piping skills, you can alternatively use a cookie press to shape these cookies.
How to Store Butter Cookies
Once the cookies have been baked and cooled completely, they can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature. They will last up to a week.
More Cookies Recipes
- Pistachio Snowball Cookies
- Double Chocolate Butter Cookies
- Matcha Shortbread Cookies
- Earl Grey Butter Cookies
- Strawberry Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 7 tbsp (100 gr) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup (65 gr) confectioners' sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup (125 gr) cake flour
- 2 tbsp (15 gr) cornstarch
- 1/4 tsp salt
- Milk, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 340℉/170℃ and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Using a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together butter and confectioners' sugar on high speed until pale and fluffy.
- Add egg yolk and vanilla. Beat the mixture until well combined.
- Sift in cake flour, cornstarch, and salt. Mix with a spatula until well incorporated. Don't overmix.
- Add your star piping tip to the piping bag. Transfer the dough into the piping bag and try piping on the prepared baking sheet. If the dough is too thick to pipe, transfer the dough back to the mixing bowl and add 1 tsp of milk. If the dough is creamy enough to pipe, continue piping the dough into swirls, leaving 2 inches apart on the baking sheet.
- Chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to let the dough firm up so that they kep their shape better during baking. This step is optional.
- Bake cookies for 15-18 minutes or until the edges are light brown. Bake for 15 minutes for softer cookies, bake for 18 minutes for crisper cookies.
- Remove from the oven and immediately transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
