These butter cookies may seem simple enough, but the simplest desserts are often the best! These buttery shortbread cookies are flavored with pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste for amazing vanilla flavor. The butter cookies melt in your mouth and are hard to resist!
Ingredients for Butter Cookies
- Unsalted butter: Room temperature, softened butter for easy creaming.
- Powdered sugar: Adds a subtle sweetness.
- Vanilla extract: Pure vanilla extract adds a hint of vanilla flavor. If desired, you could also use vanilla bean paste or a combination of both!
- Salt: A bit of salt enhances the flavor of the cookies.
- All-purpose flour: Be sure to level the measuring cups.
Tools & Supplies for Making Butter Cookies
- Baking sheet pan
- Silicone baking mats or parchment paper sheets
- Electric hand mixer
- Large mixing bowl
- Rolling pin
- Round cookie cutters – or your favorite size and shape
- Spatula
- Wire cooling rack
How to Make Butter Cookies
To make the butter cookie dough, I recommend using an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.
- In a large bowl or bowl of a stand mixer, cream together butter and powdered sugar.
- Add in vanilla extract/vanilla bean paste and salt to the butter mixture. Mix until combined.
- Add in all-purpose flour. Mix on low speed. The dough will be very crumbly but continue to mix until it comes together.
- Form the dough into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill in the fridge for approximately 15-20 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a baking sheet pan with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
- Use a rolling pin to roll the dough to about 1/4 inch thick on a lightly floured surface. Cut out cookies with cookie cutter.
- Place cookies on prepared baking cookie sheet pan. Bake for 12-14 minutes. The cookies should be pale on the top and slightly golden-brown around the bottom edge. (Baking times will vary depending on the size of your cookie cutter).
- Allow the cookies to cool on the pan for 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Butter Cookie Recipe Tips
Keep mixing the dough until it forms
The cookie dough will be very crumbly at first. Do not panic, this is normal. Continue to mix the crumbly dough until it forms into a cohesive dough. Resist the temptation of adding any additional liquid as this will change the texture of the cookies and cause excessive spreading.
Don’t skip the chill
A key step to making the perfect butter cookie is to chill the dough before rolling, cutting, and baking. Chilling the dough helps the butter firm up a bit which prevents the cookies from spreading too much. It also helps create the light, crisp texture.
Baking times may vary
Depending on the size of your cookie cutters, the baking time of these butter cookies may vary. Be sure to keep an eye on them in the oven. The goal is to prevent the tops of the cookies from becoming golden brown. We are looking for cookies that are pale on the top but have the tiniest bit of golden brown around the bottom edge! The amount of cookies this recipe makes will also vary depending on the size of your cookie cutters.
Add some extra sweetness
If you want to jazz up your butter cookies a bit, there are many options! I love dipping half the cookie in melted chocolate and adding some sprinkles! You could also add melted chocolate to a piping bag and pipe a drizzle of chocolate over the cookies. Another great way to add a little something extra is to ice the cookies with royal icing or vanilla buttercream frosting!
Storing and serving
Butter cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for about 3 to 4 days. You can keep the chilled cookie dough disc in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks before use. You will need to let it sit out at room temperature for about 15 minutes before rolling out!
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Butter Cookies
Equipment
- Electric hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment
- Rolling pin/Cookie cutters
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl with an electric hand mixer or a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together butter and powdered sugar until smooth.
- Add in vanilla extract and salt. Mix until combined.
- Add in all-purpose flour. Mix on low speed until a dough forms. The dough will be very crumbly at first, but continue to mix until it comes together.
- While the dough is chilling, preheat the oven to 350° F and line a baking sheet pan with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
- Use a rolling pin to roll the dough to about ¼ inch thick on a floured surface. Cut out cookies with cookie cutter.
- Place cookies on prepared baking sheet pan. Bake for 12-14 minutes until the cookies are slightly golden-brown on the bottom and pale on the top.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the pan for 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
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Comments & Reviews
How do you make the butter icing for your butter cookies.
Thank you
Can’t wait to make them. I’ll let you know.
Hi Vicki! If you are looking for a buttercream recipe, you could try my vanilla buttercream! https://cakemehometonight.com/vanilla-american-buttercream/
Thank you for all your wonderful recipes and tips! These are delish! As a new cookie baker and decorator, I appreciate all the posts to help me! Thanks again Tammy
Tammy, thank you so much for trying out my recipes! I’m so happy to hear that you are finding my posts to be helpful! 🙂
Hi 😁 I notice there is no egg in this recipe, is that correct?
Yes! That is correct! It is a shortbread butter cookie so no eggs needed!