Butter Cookies are a classic favorite holiday cookie but they’re also great all year around! Crisp, buttery cookies with melt-in-your-mouth interiors, these are super simple with just 6 ingredients and no chilling required!
These are one of my favorite Christmas cookies, simpler to make than decorated Sugar Cookies and amazing when dipped in dark chocolate (and decorated with sprinkles!).
Crisp on the Outside, Soft on the Inside, Buttery Butter Cookies
These butter cookies are one of the simplest cookies to ever grace the face of my blog and yet they are one of my all-time favorites. Maybe because they’re so easy?
But they’re not just one of my favorites… my mom helps me with my baking and recipe development (and dishes!) almost every day of the week. She and my little sister leave my house with tons and tons of spare desserts, and often dessert fails, too.
So you would think she might want a break from sugar and flour and butter and even cookies when she goes home, but no. The day we finally nailed this butter cookie recipe (and there days and days of fails beforehand), she went home and made herself (and my siblings) another batch of these cookies.
That’s how good these butter cookies are.
And I know that I mentioned they’re easy, but really, 6 basic ingredients (7 if you want to dip them in chocolate, which you do), no chilling, no frills… I think you’re going to love these.
How to Make Butter Cookies
- Cream together butter and sugar.
- Stir in egg, vanilla extract, and salt.
- Gradually stir in flour until completely combined.
- Place half of the dough into a piping bag fitted with a large tip and pipe in a circular design onto an ungreased cookie sheet (I don’t line my baking sheets with parchment paper).
- Bake until edges are just beginning to turn golden brown.
- Allow to cool, then dip in melted chocolate and decorate with sprinkles.
What is the Difference Between Sugar and Butter Cookies?
The biggest difference between sugar cookies and butter cookies is that sugar cookies are often rolled thin and cut out using cookie cutters. While butter cookies will hold their shape while baking, the dough is much softer and for best results should be piped onto a baking sheet and then baked. Butter cookies (probably unsurprisingly) also contain a higher percentage of butter while sugar cookies have a higher flour to butter/fat ratio. Here is my favorite recipe for sugar cookies (and it’s a good one, just check out all those 5 star ratings!).
Shortbread cookies are another similar cookie, they are more crumbly and tender than butter cookies and bake at a lower temperature.
How Long Do Butter Cookies Last?
Butter cookies will keep for up to 2-3 weeks. Be sure to store them in an airtight container at room temperature.
Tips for Making Butter Cookies
These cookies are simple, but here are a few little tips and tricks to help you on your way!
- Your butter should be softened, but not so soft that it’s melt-y or oily on the outside. I’ll usually set mine outside of the fridge about 45-60 minutes before I begin baking.
- “Regular” butter will work perfectly in this recipe, but I love splurging on European butter for an even better taste! This recipe has so few ingredients that using the best quality really makes a difference!
- Only place about half of your cookie dough in the piping bag at a time. It makes it easier to pipe and less likely that you’ll bust open your piping bag!
- I used the Ateco 827 tip and made these butter cookies into simple swirls. If you make your swirls smaller or larger the cookies will need to bake for less or more time, respectively. Keep an eye on them! Also, if you use a different tip your baking time will vary (and smaller tips will be much harder to squeeze the dough through).
- Dipping your cookies in melted chocolate is optional, but it adds a nice touch. I recommend adding a small bit of shortening to the chocolate to ensure that it’s thin enough so that it dips well and you can still see the details of the cookie. If you use a premium chocolate like Ghirardelli, you can probably get away without adding the shortening, but I’ve found some less expensive chocolate just stays much too thick.
- Placing your butter cookies in the fridge for about 10-15 minutes after dipping in chocolate will expedite the hardening of the chocolate! Don’t leave them in for too long, though, or they will start to dry out.
Enjoy!
More Classic Cookie Recipes:
Let’s bake together! Follow me on my YouTube channel where I’ve already uploaded over 200 recipe videos that you can watch for free! I’ve included a short version of the video in today’s post, but for the full-length Butter Cookie video please see my YouTube channel. 💜
Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter softened
- ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups + 2 Tablespoons (265 g) all-purpose flour¹ ("plain flour" in the UK)
For Chocolate (optional)
- 1 cup (170 g) dark chocolate chips
- ½ teaspoon vegetable shortening I use Crisco
- Nonpareil sprinkles optional
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven 375F (190C)
- In a large bowl (or, preferably, in the bowl of a stand mixer), combine butter and sugar and beat together with an electric mixer until creamy and very well-combined.1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- Add egg yolk, vanilla extract, and salt and beat well. Pause to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure that all ingredients are well incorporated.1 large egg yolk, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, ¼ teaspoon salt
- With mixer on low speed, gradually add flour until the flour is completely combined. Again you should pause to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.2 cups + 2 Tablespoons (265 g) all-purpose flour¹
- Fit a large piping bag with Ateco 827 piping tip and portion half of the cookie dough into the bag².
- Pipe cookies into swirl shapes on an unlined, ungreased cookie sheet. Transfer to 375F (190C) preheated oven and bake for 10-12 minutes or until edges of cookies are just beginning to turn golden brown.
- Allow cookies to cool for 10 minutes on cookie sheet before transferring to cooling rack to cool completely.
- Do not pipe cookie dough onto a hot or warm cookie sheet.
- Once cookies have cooled completely, dip in chocolate (if desired).
Chocolate
- Combine chocolate chips and shortening in a small bowl. Heat in the microwave in 20 second increments, stirring well in between, until chocolate is completely melted and smooth.1 cup (170 g) dark chocolate chips, ½ teaspoon vegetable shortening
- Dip cookies in chocolate and transfer to a wax paper lined cookie sheet. Decorate with nonpareils or other sprinkles, if desired.Nonpareil sprinkles
- Allow chocolate to harden before enjoying. You can speed up this process by placing the cookies in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes.
Notes
Help! I don't have the right piping tip OR My dough ended up too stiff to pipe
Don't have an Ateco 827? Don't kill your hand trying to use a smaller tip! You can instead drop the cookie dough by rounded 1 ½ Tablespoon onto the baking sheet and use the tines of a fork to make a criss-cross pattern (like if you were making peanut butter cookies) and bake as directed. As mentioned above, the most likely reason for being unable to pipe the dough is if the flour was over-measured (see notes above), the ingredients weren't combined well enough (especially if the butter and sugar weren't well-creamed), or if you're trying to use a piping tip that is too small. Some people have reported success with adding a splash of milk to the dough (though keep in mind that because you have lowered the ratio of butter to other ingredients the cookies may not be as buttery/flavorful) or you can also try warming the dough in the piping bag between your hands by squeezing it before piping.How to Store
Butter Cookies will keep for up to 2-3 weeks in an airtight container at room temperature.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Andrea
I’ve made these three times now. The first time I made them I used the largest open tip I had. The cookies came out well, but I didn’t get the lines as sharp as I wanted, so alas, I bought the recommended tip. The tip is the secret. It’s probably at least a size larger than my largest tip and it made a noticeable difference. I piped the dough on both sheets and stored the one I wasn’t baking in the fridge so the dough didn’t warm up too much in my kitchen (I was a baking fool and my kitchen was quite warm). The dough is quite stiff and a wrist workout, but that’s what will give you the best swirl. Perfect piping is something that will take practice. My third batch was my best and I found keeping the swirl nice and tight yielded the prettiest result. Each batch only gave me about 21 cookies. I wish it made more, but another batch is easy enough to whip up. The taste is delightfully buttery, kissed with vanilla, and the texture is wonderfully crisp with the right about of chew. A great cookie for a holiday cookie tray!
Heather
I have made this recipe 3x this week because my husband keeps eating them. This is a simple recipe to follow with limited ingredients. Using a scale makes it fail safe. Mine are slightly crunchy on the outside, and soft in the inside. I can’t emphasize enough using a large enough tip. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Lynsey Harden
They are absolutely perfect. Best recipe I’ve ever found. I had the correct tip but used a cookie press instead. I made Christmas trees and snowflakes. They turned out perfect and had no trouble at all with the dough being to stiff. Thank you for this epic recipe. Officially my go to Christmas cookie from here on out!!!
Tammy
These are delicious, however, idk what the secret is to being able to pipe them, it’s hard to get the dough to come out. Tips?
Sam
Hi Tammy! It is a stiffer dough. Are you using a large tip?
Heather
I find as the dough warms in my hand, it’s easier to pipe.
Bernice Hatch
I tried making these today but I found them too hard to pipe, What is your secret besides the size of the piping tip? They taste really good and would love to be able to make them pretty.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re sorry to hear you had difficulty with your dough, Bernice 🙁 We go over some tips and tricks for piping the dough in the recipe notes–hopefully that helps!
Stefanie
Can you sprinkle colored sugars on the piped butter cookies before baking? I’m not planning on dipping them in chocolate but would like them to look festive on the cookie plate. Thank You for all your helpful tips and recipes!
Sam
Hi Stefanie! That should work just fine. 🙂
Sue
Can you freeze the Butter Cookie dough after you have piped the cookies out to be baked at a later date?
Sam
I don’t see why not! They will likely just take a bit more time to bake from frozen.
Beth
The butter cookies look wonderful. Do you think it will be ok to freeze the dough? I plan to pipe them onto a parchment covered cookie sheet, cover them with parchment and foil, then freeze them. After they are solid, I plan to transfer them to freezer bags. Do you think this will work? Has anyone tried it?
Sam
Hi Beth! I have not tried this but I honestly think it would work just fine. Hoping if someone else has tried this they can chime in, or if you do end up trying it please let me know how it turns out for you! 🙂
Carol Lynn
Can I use my spritz cookie tool for these cookies? I don’t have a bag with a tip. Thanks!
Sam
Hi Carol! You can, but the dough is a little stiff for a cookie press so it may take a little bit of elbow grease, but it can be done. 🙂
Carol Lynn
Thank you for getting back to me 😁
Ava
This recipe is absolute crowd pleaser! The only problem is that the chocolate doesn’t seem to solidify for my case so I had to pop them in the fridge. I used thickened cream and dark chocolate bar at 1:1 ratio. Any advice is greatly appreciated!
Sam
Hi Ava! So glad everyone enjoyed! It sounds like you made a ganache for dipping, which does not dry quite as firm. For a chocolate dip I would recommend using the chocolate dip that I listed in the recipe. I hope that helps!
Catherine
Use a good baking chocolate and never add cream, milk or anything. I used nestle chips in the bag, the ones you use for chocolate chip cookies. It worked great. The chocolate will harden with no problems at all.
Hannah =)
Amazing recipe! These cookies are delicious! Only thing is that they didn’t keep their shape after I baked them. The dough was stiff when I piped it and I weighed all of my ingredients. Any ideas??? Still delicious, no matter what!
Sam
Hi Hannah! I’m glad you still enjoyed them! Is it possible your butter was too soft? You want it to be soft but not to the point of almost becoming melty.
Hannah =)
Aha! That was definitely it. My butter was left out for a few hours and it was pretty warm here in California! Thought it would be fine, amateur move! Thanks!
Also, semi-related, is there a way to organize your posts by date? I’ve been wanting to read through all of them because I (sadly) have not been with you through your whole blogger journey and want to try and catch up!
Sam
The best way to view by date is to go to my Recipes tab (top menu) and they are listed in reverse-chronological order there. I hope that helps and thanks for using my recipes!
Hannah =)
Hello again! I just tried making these again, and this time I made SURE that my butter was at the perfect temperature, but they still didn’t keep their shape very well! Do you think it is my oven? I have caught it lying before and always bake at 20 degrees less than what the recipe says which usually works well. Should I check this again?
Sam
You may just need a little more flour. I don’t think the oven temperature would cause the spreading. I hope they turn out better next time. 🙂
Patricia
I always wanted to try making these cookies. They are Soooo expensive at the bakery. I tried them at Christmas and everyone loved them. I used Christmas sprinkles and they were as festive as my sugar cookies, ( which is an old guarded family recipe!!) I was so pleased at the way they turned out. These will be another cookie I will always make at Christmas, and other holidays too. Thank you!
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed them so much, Patricia! 🙂
LaMonica Adkins
Can I use the whole egg instead of just the Yolk? What will that do to the recipe?
Sam
Hi LaMonica! It will make the cookies prone to spreading.
Angela Swart
Love too bake these cookies.
Soraya
Great Recipe. The dough was perfect, After coming out of the oven I dipped them. They are very nice, crunchy and sweet. I suggest using less of the chocolate dip if you wish to taste the cookie. Thank you.