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Butter Cookies (aka Danish-style, blue tin cookies) are a timeless, melt-in-your-mouth cookie recipe that’s super popular at the holidays. They’re buttery and a little crunchy and the perfect blank slate cookie recipe. This post will cover everything you need to know about making butter cookies, from the basic recipe to tips, tricks, variations, storing and freezing and so much more. One dough more than four different cookie variations!
Table of Contents
What Makes a Butter Cookie a Butter Cookie?
Butter cookies look similar to shortbread cookies and have similar ingredients to cut out sugar cookies, but they’re actually their own type of cookie recipe. Butter Cookies use a combination of butter, granulated sugar, egg yolk, and baking powder to create a melt-in-your-mouth texture that has crispy crunchy edges and the perfect center.
These cookies are also called Danish Butter Cookies and some recipes can be piped into shapes. They’re also known as slice-and-bake cookies because you form them into cookie dough logs and chill them, slicing and baking when you’re ready for them. Butter cookies freeze great and store well, are perfect for gifting and mailing, and they’re so easy to vary the flavor on too. Think of Butter Cookies as a blank slate: one dough infinite number of ways!
Butter Cookie Ingredients
- It’s important to use a good quality unsalted butter (not tub butter or margarine). These cookies have the perfect texture thanks to the exact ingredients – any changes will alter your outcome.
- Instead of powdered sugar, like my shortbread cookie recipe, these use granulated sugar, making them a little more crisp.
- An egg yolk adds moisture and richness while baking powder yields a light and delicate texture.
- Make sure you measure your all-purpose flour correctly (by weight or spoon and level it).
- It’s best if you start with room temperature ingredients.
- The only alteration that is okay with this recipe is using salted butter in place of unsalted; just reduce or omit added salt.
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Dorothy’s Expert Butter Cookie Tips
- Make sure to roll the cookie dough logs into equal size thickness and length. This will help make all the cookies bake the same way.
- Avoid the “flat side” of slice-and-bake cookies by chilling the dough standing up in a drinking glass. This will keep the cookies nice and round.
- When slicing to bake, make sure to slice all the cookies the same thickness so they bake in the same amount of time.
Butter Cookie Recipe Guide
Ingredients
- 2 cups (452g) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 ⅓ cups (268g) granulated sugar
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 4 cups (496g) all-purpose flour
- Coatings or mix-ins (see notes)
Instructions
- Cream butter and sugar until fluffy in a large bowl using a hand or a stand mixer, about 1-2 minutes.
- Mix in egg yolks, baking powder, salt and vanilla extract until smooth, then mix in flour until dough forms.
- Divide dough into four equal sections.
- If adding mix-ins, add them now and mix until incorporated. If not adding mix-ins, go to the next step.
- Roll each into a log that is about 6-7-inches long and approximately 1 ½-inches in diameter. (You can make these any size, larger or smaller, if you prefer.)
- If coating the logs, place coatings on a large flat surface. Roll each log carefully in sugar and press lightly to adhere it, then wrap the logs in plastic wrap.
- Chill at least 2 hours before slicing, or up to overnight. Tip: Place the logs standing up in drinking glasses so they stay circular.
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°F. Slice cookies desired thickness, no more than ¼-inches. Place on cookies sheets covered with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Bake for 16-18 minutes, or until they’re light golden around the edges and no longer glossy. You may want to check part way through baking to see if you need to rotate your pans in your oven, even if you normally don’t. These are delicate cookies and may brown in different areas quicker or slower.
- Cool on cookie sheets then store in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Freeze for up to 3 months.
Recipe Notes
- For mix-ins: You want to add approximately 1-1½ cups of mix-ins per 1 log. So if you’re making all one flavor, add 4-5 cups total mix-ins. If you’re making 4 flavors, divide the dough into 4 equal pieces and add 1-1½ cups per piece.
- Mix in ideas: chopped toasted pecans or walnuts, pistachios, cranberries, sprinkles, mini chocolate chips.
- Coating ideas: any color sanding sugar, finely chopped nuts, sprinkles or nonpareils.
- Flavoring ideas: Reduce vanilla to 1tsp and use 1/2 teaspoon almond extract or any other flavor (full recipe).
- Add spices like cinnamon or chai spice or lemon or orange zest.
Recipe Nutrition
FAQs
Butter cookies that are sliced like this will stay flat but they should not spread. Make sure to chill the dough properly and don’t make any substitutions.
These will get extra crispy and no longer melt-in-your-mouth if you bake them too long. Make sure they’re all the same thickness when you slice them so they bake evenly and watch the time – if your cookies are thinner they will cook faster.
No – butter cookies need the butter for the flavor and texture to be correct.
You can freeze butter cookie dough logs for up to 3 months.
Slice and Bake Butter Cookies Step by Step
- Cream butter and sugar in a large bowl with a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle.
- Mix in baking powder, salt, egg yolk, and vanilla. Mix in flour until dough forms.
- Divide dough into 4 parts. Add mix-ins to the sections you want to.
- Roll dough into logs and roll in coating, if desired.
- Wrap well. Chill.
- Slice cookies then bake on a cookie sheet at 350°F.
