Butter Cookies

Classic butter cookies are a delicious treat with a lovely buttery taste, dipped in rich chocolate and covered in festive sprinkles.

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Table of Contents

BUTTER COOKIES INGREDIENTS
HOW TO MAKE THIS BUTTER COOKIES RECIPE
HOW TO SERVE
STORAGE
FAQ
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These rich, delicious butter cookies are a classic dessert that offers melt-in-your-mouth flavor. A made from scratch dough is piped then baked before being dipped in chocolate and topped with sprinkles for this old-fashioned homemade treat.

Once you get the bug for making cookies, you’ll want to make more. Our Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies are a favorite recipe that creates soft and chewy cookies while this Peanut Butter Cookies recipe is another simple one with the delicious peanut flavor. We also love sugar cookies and have a few sugar cookie recipes for you to try. Check out our No-Spread Sugar Cookies, Lemon Sugar Cookies and Swig Sugar Cookie recipe.

MORE COOKIE RECIPES:
Lemon Sugar Cookies | Apple Pie Cookies

BUTTER COOKIES INGREDIENTS

butter cookies raw ingredients that are labeled

You will need:

½ cup salted butter, softened to room temperature
½ cup butter flavored shortening
⅔ cup white cane sugar
2 egg yolks, room temperature
1½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 level cups all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons whole milk, maybe less
10 ounces chocolate candy melts for dipping, optional
Sprinkles, optional

SUBSTITUTIONS AND ADDITIONS

Sprinkles: If you don’t want to go down the sprinkles and melted chocolate route for a topping, you can just roll them in sugar. This will create a nice crunchiness when you eat them.

Butter: Some people prefer unsalted butter for their baking but with this butter cookie recipe, you need a little salt in there. So you can use unsalted butter but you’d need to add salt. Using salted butter is just easier for these buttery cookies.

HOW TO MAKE THIS BUTTER COOKIES RECIPE

STEP ONE: Preheat your oven to 350°F. Prepare your cookie sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.

STEP TWO: In a large bowl with a hand mixer or in the bowl of your stand mixer mix cream butter, shortening, and sugar until fully incorporated.

PRO TIP: Make sure you are working with room temperature butter for this recipe.

STEP THREE: Add egg yolk and vanilla to the butter mixture then add flour ½ cup at a time while mixing until the dough is crumbly.

STEP FOUR: Add milk, one tablespoon at a time until you reach a pipeable consistency. You want a firm dough, but not too thick to pipe.

STEP FIVE: Place your dough in a piping bag fitted with a large star tip. I used an Artco 826 tip. Pipe rounds onto the prepared baking sheet leaving two inches between each cookie.

PRO TIP: If you find the cookie dough won’t pipe, it is usually one of two things. Either your dough is too thick or the piping tip is too small. Aim for one with a ½ inch opening and dough that is firm but not hard.

STEP SIX: Chill 30 minutes in the fridge to avoid overspreading. This helps to make soft cookies by ensuring the fats in the recipe don’t spread too far too quickly and the other ingredients can cook properly.

STEP SEVEN: Bake for 14 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Transfer to the cooling rack to completely cool.

STEP EIGHT: Prepare dipping chocolate according to the directions then dip one-half of each of the cooled cookies into the chocolate. Gently scrape the excess off the bottom using the rim of your bowl.

PRO TIP: If you are using more than one color of melting chocolate, just melt according to directions in separate bowls and dip your cookies based on your design preference.

STEP NINE: Place back on the cooling rack over a sheet of parchment paper. Add sprinkles!

HOW TO SERVE

This simple butter cookie recipe is a classic choice for cookie exchanges during the holiday season or for afternoon tea any time of year. Serve with your choice of coffee, tea or a latte for a warm drink or with our iced tea, raspberry iced tea, sweet peach iced tea, or our southern strawberry sweet tea for a cold, refreshing option.

STORAGE

ON THE COUNTER: Store your homemade cookies in an airtight container on the counter for up to 5 days.

IN THE FREEZER: You can freeze the uncooked dough if you want to prepare it ahead of time. Pop balls of the cookie dough onto a baking sheet with parchment paper and covered in plastic wrap and pop in the freezer. Once they are frozen, lift them off and put them in airtight containers or freezer bags. Defrost before cooking as in the recipe.

This recipe is a great way to create a tasty treat that can also be finished in different ways. From melted chocolate and sprinkles to sugar, you can make these favorite cookies a little different every time. Skip the grocery store as these homemade danish butter cookies are better than any ones you will get from a store-bought blue tin.

FAQ

Can I use plain white sugar or do I have to use cane sugar?

If you only have granulated sugar, you can substitute it for cane sugar, as long as you have 2/3 cup sugar for this simple homemade butter cookies recipe.

Can I use a different flavor of candy melts rather than plain brown milk chocolate?

This is the perfect recipe for experimenting with. There are so many different colors of melting chocolate and you could have so much fun color coordinating these with the occasion you are making them for.

Do I have to pipe these cookies onto the baking sheet?

You could also use this same recipe and make slice and bake cookies. If doing so shape dough into two logs (wrap in wax paper) and chill until fairly firm, then slice into thin disks and bake. You can also make these using a cookie press instead of piping.

What is the difference between butter cookies and shortbread cookies?

The main difference between butter cookies and shortbread cookies is the ratio of butter to flour. Shortbread cookies tend to have a higher ratio while butter cookies have an increased amount of sugar and flour meaning that they will hold together even better than shortbread cookies.

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Butter Cookies

5 from 1 vote

Classic butter cookies are a delicious treat with a lovely buttery taste, dipped in rich chocolate and covered in festive sprinkles.

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 15

Total Time 35

Servings dozen cookies

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Ingredients

1/2 cup salted butter softened to room temperature
1/2 cup butter flavored shortening
2/3 cup white cane sugar
2 egg yolks room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 level cup all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons whole milk maybe less
10 ounces chocolate candy melts for dipping optional
sprinkles optional

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Prepare your cookie sheet with silicone baking mat.
In the bowl of your stand mixer, cream butter, shortening, and sugar until fully incorporated.
Add egg yolk and vanilla extract.
Add flour ½ cup at a time while mixing until dough is crumbly.
Then add milk one tablespoon at a time until you reach a pipeable consistency. You want a firm dough, but not too thick to pipe.
Place your dough in a piping bag fitted with a large star tip. I used an Artco 826 tip.
Pipe rounds onto cookie sheet leaving two inches between each cookie.
Chill 30 minutes in the fridge to avoid over spreading.
Bake for 14 minutes or until edges are golden brown.
Transfer to cooling rack to completely cool.
Prepare dipping chocolate according to the directions then dip one half of each cooled cookie into the chocolate. Gently scrape excess off the bottom using the rim of your bowl.
Place back on cooling rack over a sheet of parchment paper. Add sprinkles!

Video

Notes

TIP: Make sure you are working with room temperature butter for this recipe.

TIP: If you find the cookie dough won’t pipe, it is usually one of two things. Either your dough is too thick or the piping tip is too small. Aim for one with a ½ inch opening and dough that is firm but not hard.

TIP: If you are using more than one color of melting chocolate, just melt according to directions in separate bowls and dip your cookies based on your design preference.

Nutrition

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Proudly Prepared by the Spaceships Kitchen

This recipe was developed, tested, cooked and photographed by the Spaceships Kitchen. From our dinner table to yours, we hope you think it's out of this world!

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Butter Cookies