Description
The most delicious butter cookies for your Holiday table. Buttery, soft, crumbly yet crisp. They’ll disappear just as fast as you set them out.
Ingredients
Units
- 2/3 cup (5 1/4 ounces/150 grams) superfine sugar (SEE NOTE)
- 16 tablespoons salted butter, cubed, softened but still cool
- 2 cups (10-ounces/285 grams) all-purpose flour
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon – 1 tablespoon whole milk
Optional Decorations
- Melted chocolate (white or dark)
- Melted candy melts
- Coarse or dusting sugars
- Nonpareils
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. You will need two large ungreased sheet pans. I lined mine with silicone baking mats, but you don’t have to. I don’t recommend using dark-coated baking sheets for this, they get too hot and can scorch the bottom of your cookies.
- In a large bowl cream together butter, and superfine sugar until combined. Use a handheld electric mixer or stand mixer. You could also cream it by hand — just use a sturdy rubber spatula and good old fashioned muscle.
- Then, mix in the large egg yolks and vanilla until combined.
- Add flour and use a rubber spatula to fold it all together until dusty/crumbly. Use the mixer to further combine the mixture. Then add in 1 teaspoon of milk. Add another 1-2 teaspoons if you need to so that it’s pipe-able, but it shouldn’t be mushy or too soft. Make sure the dough is still stiff enough so that it doesn’t spread when baked.
- Transfer the dough to a piping bag fitted with a large open star tip. Don’t use anything with a closed tip, it will be too difficult to pipe it out.
- Pipe out the dough into 2-inch cookies onto two baking sheets, then chill the piped dough for at least 30 minutes prior to baking.
- Bake one sheet at a time until golden brown on bottom, about 12 – 15 minutes.
- Let cool on baking sheet 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once the cookies are cooled, you can dip them into melted chocolate, candy melts, etc. Then top with desired coarse or dusting sugars and nonpareils. Allow the chocolate and decorations to fully set.
- Serve, or store in an airtight container for up to a week.
Notes
You can purchase superfine sugar at most stores, but you can also make it in your own food processor. Simply process the sugar for 30 seconds to 1 minute. If you don’t have a food processor, and can’t purchase superfine sugar, you can still use regular granulated. Superfine sugar just melt’s better and gives the cookie a better texture, but granulated will work just fine.
If using unsalted butter, simply add 1/4 teaspoon of fine sea salt to the sugar/butter mixture when creaming.
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 15
- Category: cookies
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: christmas cookies, cookies, butter cookies, holiday butter cookies
