Butter Cookies are perfect for Christmas or any time for that matter. These irresistible buttery crisp shortbread cookies are super easy to make. Leave a plate full for Santa and you're sure to be rewarded with presents under the tree!
Ingredients for Butter Cookies
I used the following ingredients for these amazing butter cookies: Unsalted butter, confectioners' sugar, sea salt, egg white, vanilla extract, and all-purpose flour.
Making the Butter Cookies
I started by sifting the confectioners' sugar into the bowl with softened butter.
Next I added the salt and beat the mixture on low just until everything was combined.
Once everything was combined, I added the egg white and beat the mixture on low for about a minute. Interestingly, this caused the mixture to somewhat separate. I knew from experience that the dough would actually come together nicely once I added the flour. Therefore, I wasn't at all concerned at this point!
After that, I added the vanilla extract and again beat on low just until the vanilla was incorporated.
Finally, I added the flour and beat on low just until it was incorporated into the dough.
At this point, the dough was ready for me to transfer it to a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip. I used an Ateco 825 tip. However, you could also use a Wilton 1M tip.
I piped the dough in circles on a silicon lined baking sheet. Parchment paper would also work here.
I was able to pipe 14 cookies that were about 2 ½-inches in diameter. With the little bit of dough that was left over, I piped some small stars!
I baked the cookies in a preheated 350° F oven for about 17 minutes. After 17 minutes, the cookies were perfectly cooked. They were golden brown around the edges and on the bottom. I removed them from the oven and transferred them to a wire rack to cool.
The cookies were amazing. They were buttery-rich and sweet but not too sweet. The crispy confections were perfect for Santa's treat. Yum!
Merry Christmas!
Recipe
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Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 9 Tablespoons (4 ½ ounces, 128 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
- ½ cup (2.1 ounces, 60 grams) confectioners' sugar
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 large egg white, room temperature
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons (5.4 ounces, 153 grams) all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.
- Place butter in a bowl; sift confectioners' sugar over it; add the salt. On low speed, beat just until smooth, but not fluffy. You want a homogeneous dough, but you don't want to beat air into it.
- Beat in the egg white. This will make the dough separate. Keep mixing for about 1 minute. Don't be concerned if the mixture curdles; the flour will smooth it out. Beat in the vanilla and scrape down the bowl. Gradually add the flour, beating only until it disappears into the soft dough.
- Fit a pastry bag with a large open-star tip. (See Note 1)Transfer the dough to the piping bag.
- Pipe the dough in circles onto the lined baking sheets leaving about 2-inches of space between them - the dough will puff and spread under the heat. You can make the cookies larger or smaller or in different shapes, but whatever you do, leave enough space between them to spread out.
- Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 17 to 18 minutes. The cookies should be golden brown around their edges and on their bottoms and paler at the center. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheets for a few minutes, then transfer them to racks to cool at room temperature.
- Yield: About 14 cookies. (See Note 2)
Tips/Notes
- I used an Ateco 825 star tip. You could also use a 1M Wilton tip or other large star tip.
- Packed airtight, the cookies will keep for at least 1 week; they can be frozen for up to 2 months.
Linda Grady says
I have your recipe published in the palm beach post. But the ounces don’t compute. It says for instance 3/4 cup - 3 ounces conf sugar 1 cup is 8 ounces. 2 1/2 cups (12.5 ounces all purpose flour. Again One cup is 8 ounces. Even this recipe, which is a little different, doesn’t compute - can you please advise ? Ps the Pal Beach Post recipe has your name and author Chula King - blogger behind PudgeFactor.com. Can you please email me? Thanks
Chula King says
Hi Linda,
I've emailed you my response to your questions!
Chula
Anonymous says
For the rest of us who are curious about the correct measurements, could you publicly share the answer?
Chula King says
If you are referring to Linda's comment related to confectioners' sugar and flour, I have no idea where she got the measurements in the comment, or how she equated one cup of confectioners' sugar with eight ounces or one cup of all-purpose flour with eight ounces. The weights listed in the recipe are the ones that I use for making these cookies.
The Book of Food says
I'm looking for a cookie recipe to bring at work, I might try this one ! Thank you for sharing.
PudgeFactor says
It would be a great one to take! You might want to double the recipe though.