This Butter Cookie Recipe is a classic Christmas cookie!. It’s rich, buttery, tender, and melt-in-your-mouth delicious . Yum!
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I love butter cookies. Not the ones you get in those holiday tins at the store though. Homemade ones. They’re so rich and delicious. The only way to make them better is to dip them in chocolate!
Ingredients, Substitutions, & Budget
This total recipe costs $4.12 to make. It makes 24 cookies which works out to $.17 per cookie.
Your grocery costs are probably different than mine. Location, shopping habits, seasonal availability, and other things can all have a major impact on the cost of food. Find out how I calculate what a recipe costs.
Butter Cookie Ingredients
There are 7 ingredients in this recipe.
Butter ($2.08)
They’re called BUTTER cookies. This is the most important ingredient!
I have never substituted butter in this recipe. I guess you could try using the same amount of margarine or shortening (even better would be butter flavored shortening).
Flour ($0.72)
I use an unbleached all-purpose flour.
You can use a different flour, but it might change the taste and/or texture of your cookies.
Cake flour can make cookies a bit lighter. Bread flour can make cookies chewier (and maybe tougher). Whole wheat flour can make cookies denser and slightly bitter.
5 More Ingredients
- Sugar ($0.16): plain white sugar is what I use. If you want to try a different sugar, stick with something that has sweetness but no other flavors that will detract from the buttery goodness.
- Salt ($0.01): salt is important for flavor!
- Egg Yolks ($0.62): you only need the yolks for butter cookies. This is the cost of 2 full eggs, so save yourself some money and use the whites somewhere else.
- Vanilla ($0.45): another option is to add about 6mL almond extract. OR, substitute all the vanilla for 10mL almond extract.
- Milk ($up to $0.08): milk is added to give the cookies a better consistency for piping or shaping. I’ve made these with 1% dairy milk and with oat “milk” and both worked perfectly fine. Use what you’ve got.
Equipment & Plating
These cookies use basic cookie making equipment.
Stand Mixer
You’ll want the paddle attachment for this recipe.
Butter cookies involve creaming together butter and sugar. A stand mixer makes this easy because you can set it up and then do something else for the few minutes.
If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can use a handheld electric mixer. You can try to cream butter & sugar by hand but it’s going to take a long time and a lot of vigorous beating.
Small Tools
To make this recipe, you’re going to want the following small tools:
- Sheet Pans: needed to bake your cookies in the oven.
- Food Scale (or Measuring Cups & Spoons): useful for measuring your ingredients.
- Piping Bag & Large Tip: *optional if you want to pipe your cookies instead of slicing.
Looking to stock your kitchen with the best equipment? Learn about the best kitchen tools you should own!
What Goes with Butter Cookies
I like to melt some quality chocolate and drizzle it on my butter cookies (or dip them in it). Butter cookies are a pretty standard holiday cookie and often made alongside Gingerbread Cookies and Sugar Cookies.
Got Leftovers?
I never have leftover butter cookies. I keep just the right number for myself (which is more than I need) and give the rest away.
- Freeze then Bake: butter cookie dough can be frozen (either in a blob or as cookies) and then baked. They’re best refrigerated overnight before shaping/baking.
- Freeze after Baking: you can freeze baked cookies. Allow them to come to room temperature naturally before eating (avoid heating them because you could melt them). They’re best if eaten within a month.
- Repurpose: Use your leftover butter cookies in a different recipe. Add them to a trifle, use them as a pie crust, experiment and enjoy!
Butter Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 226 g Butter ($2.08)
- 140 g Sugar ($0.16)
- 2 g Salt ($0.01)
- 2 Egg Yolks ($0.62)
- 15 mL Vanilla Extract ($0.45)
- 283 g All-Purpose Flour ($0.72)
- 30-60 mL Milk ($0.08)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350*F. Arrange rack in middle.
- In mixer bowl, cream together butter, sugar, and salt using the paddle attachment.226 g Butter, 140 g Sugar, 2 g Salt
- Mix in egg yolks and vanilla.2 Egg Yolks, 15 mL Vanilla Extract
- Gradually add in flour. Mix until crumbly.283 g All-Purpose Flour
- Add in 30 mL of milk. Mix.If the dough is still dry, you can add up to 30 mL more milk. You’ll likely need to add (at least some of) this if you plan to pipe your cookies.30-60 mL Milk
- Roll the dough into a log shape, place on sheet pan, and chill for about 30 minutes.OR, transfer dough to a piping bag and pipe dough into rounds on sheet pan.
- Once chilled, slice log into cookies! Arrange on sheet pan.
- Bake in oven about 14 minutes (until golden brown on bottom).
- Let cool on sheet pan for 5 minutes then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
Enjoy Your Butter Cookies!
Did you make this butter cookie recipe? How did it turn out? What changes did you make? Share your thoughts in the comments!
Until next time. Xoxo