Butter Cookies - Easy 6 Ingredient Recipe!

5 from 58 votes

Butter Cookies - Easy 6 Ingredient Recipe!

These butter cookies are made with real butter so they're rich, buttery & irresistable! An easy recipe for danish butter cookies that's ready in 20 minutes!

Prep Time8

Cook Time10

Total Time18

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American, Danish, European

Servings:

Calories: 185kcal

Equipment

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients

1 ⅔ cup cake flour (200g)
½ cup white sugar (100g)
pinch of salt (2g)

Wet Ingredients

10 Tablespoons unsalted butter (140g) - ½ cup plus 2 Tablespoons, softened at room temperature
1 large egg (60g)
½ teaspoon vanilla extract (1g)

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. In a large bowl, add the softened butter, sugar, and salt. Cream everything together until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is light yellow and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. You can use a hand mixer on high speed or use a whisk by hand.
Next, add the egg and vanilla into the bowl and beat it together until it's fully incorporated. About 1 minute.
Sift in the cake flour in three parts and mix together on medium speed until the flour is fully incorporated. The dough will be thick and sticky. Be careful not to over mix the dough as you want to minimize gluten development.
Transfer the dough into a piping bag fitted with a large closed star tip. I use Ateco piping tips. I recommend Ateco 846 or Ateco 844. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Pipe rosettes, straight lines, or any other shape you want.
Bake at 375 degrees F for 10 minutes or until the edges turn golden brown.
Wait for them to cool completely on a wire rack and then dip them in ganache or add other decorations. Makes about 40 butter cookies.

Notes

Storage - wait for the cookies to cool completely then store them in an airtight container. They stay fresh for up to 7 days.
Use cake flour for a softer, more uniform crumb. Cake flour has less gluten than all purpose flour, so these cookies come out delicate with a finer texture.
Don't over mix the dough. They shouldn't be chewy at all, so the less gluten that gets created, the better. Butter cookies should be soft, yet have a subtle crisp when bitten into.
European butter gives the best results because of its higher dairy fat and lower water content.
Freeze - Let the cookies cool completely and then wrap them in parchment paper in a single layer. Store them in an airtight plastic bag or freezer safe container. They should be good for up to a month.

Nutrition