Description
These Danish Butter Cookies are classic melt-in-your-mouth treats featuring rich European salted butter, a blend of flours for perfect texture, and a delicate vanilla flavor. Piped into charming shapes and lightly baked until golden, they offer a crisp yet tender bite perfect for any occasion.
Ingredients
Scale
Wet Ingredients
- 1 cup (227 g) European salted butter room temperature
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 teaspoons (10 g) vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon (15 g) whole milk or more to soften
Dry Ingredients
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups (220 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (50 g) cake flour
For Decoration
- Coarse sugar for decorating
Instructions
- Prepare chilling and baking equipment: Clear space in your refrigerator to chill a baking sheet with shaped cookies for 20-30 minutes to prevent over-spreading. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone mat and set aside.
- Cream butter, sugar, and salt: Using a stand mixer with paddle attachment, beat the room temperature butter on medium speed until smooth. Slowly add sugar and salt while mixer runs on low, then increase speed to medium and whip until light and fluffy.
- Add egg yolks, vanilla, and milk: With mixer on medium, incorporate egg yolks, vanilla extract, and milk until fully combined. Scrape the bowl sides to ensure even mixing.
- Combine dry ingredients and mix in: Whisk together the all-purpose and cake flours in a separate bowl. Add flour mixture to the wet ingredients in two portions, mixing on low speed until just combined with no flour streaks. If dough is too stiff to pipe, add an additional tablespoon of milk to soften.
- Pipe cookies onto baking sheets: Transfer dough to a large piping bag fitted with a ½-inch open star tip. Pipe 2-inch cookies in desired shapes (rosettes, pretzels, circles, squares), spacing them at least 2 inches apart. Sprinkle coarse sugar or festive sprinkles if desired. Chill cookies in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes.
- Preheat oven and bake: Preheat oven to 350°F with the rack in the middle position. Bake the chilled cookies for 15 minutes or until edges are just lightly golden brown.
- Cool cookies: Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely to room temperature.
Notes
- Use room temperature butter softened to about 67°F (19°C) to ensure easy mixing and smooth texture.
- Bring eggs to room temperature by placing them in warm water for 5 minutes so cookies bake evenly.
- Avoid over mixing the batter to prevent gluten development which makes cookies tough.
- Keep a close eye on baking time as it varies with cookie size and shape to avoid over-baking.
- If cake flour is unavailable, use 260 grams of all-purpose flour instead for a slightly different texture.
- Measure flour accurately using a kitchen scale or fluff, spoon, and level method to avoid overly dense cookies.
- If using unsalted butter, add ¼ teaspoon kosher salt to the dough for balanced flavor.
- Store baked cookies in airtight containers at room temperature up to 5 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
- Chill shaped cookies on baking sheets covered with plastic wrap for up to 2 days before baking; freeze unbaked dough shapes for 2-3 months and bake from frozen, adding baking time.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 90 kcal
- Sugar: 5 g
- Sodium: 40 mg
- Fat: 6 g
- Saturated Fat: 4 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 8 g
- Fiber: 0.2 g
- Protein: 1 g
- Cholesterol: 25 mg
