These homemade Danish butter cookies are festive Christmas cookies! Unlike the store-bought version you may be used to, these are soft in the center with irresistible buttery vanilla and almond flavors. Make lovely designs with a large piping tip and dip in chocolate and sprinkles for a festive touch!
Welcome to Sally’s Cookie Palooza, my annual Christmas cookie countdown tradition. Tuck away your pie crust recipe and break out all your cookie baking tools!
These Butter Cookies Are:
- Not your regular butter cookies
- Mega flavorful with almond and vanilla
- Super buttery and soft like snowball cookies
- Crisp on the edges
- Piped with a piping tip like meringue cookies
- Quick—only 30 minutes of chill time
- Extra festive with chocolate, cherries, and/or sprinkles
This butter cookie recipe is adapted from my spritz cookies and sugar cookies, both well-loved recipes on my website. You already know you’re in for something incredible!
Butter Cookies Video Tutorial
Let’s watch and learn how to make butter cookies. You’ll notice that this cookie dough comes together easily with only 8 ingredients. You need a mixer for the dough, plus a piping bag and large tip to pipe the cookie dough.
Aren’t they pretty?
Ingredients in Butter Cookies
This is a 1-bowl cookie recipe! There’s no leavening, so the texture is closer to a shortbread cookie. The dough is like my spritz cookies, but with a little milk to make it pipe-able.
- Butter: 1 cup of butter adds flavor, structure, and buttery goodness in each bite. Make sure it’s properly softened to room temperature before beginning.
- Sugar: Like many cookie recipes including these dreamy shortbread cookies, creamed butter and sugar is the base of today’s dough.
- Vanilla & Almond Extract: Flavor and more flavor! Almond extract is a welcome addition. If you’re not a fan of almond, see my recipe notes below.
- Egg: 1 egg adds structure, stability, and flavor.
- All-Purpose Flour: Add the flour directly to the wet ingredients. No need to mix it up in a separate bowl.
- Salt: By offsetting the sugar, salt adds flavor.
- Milk: I don’t usually add milk to cookies like this, but we need to thin out this cookie dough so it flows through the piping tip. You don’t need much, about 1–2 Tablespoons.
How to Pipe Butter Cookies
As you saw in this video tutorial above, this cookie dough is piped onto the baking sheet. That’s how the butter cookies get their lovely shape.
Line the cookie sheet? Some swear by using a PLAIN cookie sheet, but lining with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat is fine. (I use silicone baking mats for all my cookies and these are no different.) If you don’t line the pan, don’t grease it either.
2 Success Tips:
- Start Small: Place the cookie dough in the piping bag. Start with a little bit of dough so you can determine if it’s creamy enough to pipe. If it’s too thick, it’s impossible to pipe and you’ll have to put the dough back in the bowl and add a little more milk.
- Chill: I find it’s easiest to stick with simple designs like a swirl or even just a line. Whatever design you pipe, I highly recommend chilling the piped cookies on the baking sheet for at least 20–30 minutes before baking. Without this chill time, the cookies will likely lose their piped shape.
Best Piping Tips to Use
The cookie dough is thick, so it’s imperative to use a large piping tip with about a 1/2-inch opening. (That’s big!) The smaller the size, the harder it will be to pipe. I highly recommend an open star piping tip, but I actually use Ateco 849 which is a closed star tip. The opening is so large that it still works wonderfully!
Here are some options:
The popular Wilton 1M works too, but you may need to add more milk to the cookie dough to thin it out since the piping tip is smaller. Remember, the more milk you add, the longer you need to chill the shaped cookies or else they will over-spread in the oven.
Don’t forget your piping bags, too! (Disposable or Reusable)
By the way, these piping tips and a set of bags would be a great holiday gift for any baker. I always include them in my Holiday Baking Gift Guide!
3 Butter Cookie Varieties!
Make 3 varieties from 1 batch. 🙂
- Dip baked cookies into melted chocolate and add sprinkles.
- Stick a maraschino cherry in the center before baking.
- Add sprinkles or coarse sugar before baking.
If you love chocolate, don’t miss these chocolate butter cookies. And for even more flavors of butter cookie dough, you’ll love these mint chocolate checkerboard cookies, pinwheel cookies, and neapolitan cookies.
See Your Homemade Butter Cookies!
Many readers tried this recipe as part of a baking challenge! Feel free to share your recipe photos with us on social media. 🙂
PrintButter Cookies
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 14 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes
- Yield: 30 cookies
- Category: Desserts
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Danish
Description
Using just 8 basic ingredients and a large piping tip, make these soft vanilla-almond-flavored butter cookies. There’s no leavening, so the texture is similar to shortbread cookies. I recommend chilling the piped cookies for at least 20–30 minutes before baking.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (16 Tbsp; 226g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 2 and 1/4 cups (281g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1–2 Tablespoons (15–30ml) milk
Optional Toppings
- 4 ounces (113) semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped*
- maraschino cherries
- sprinkles or coarse sugar
Instructions
- Read through the recipe and recipe Notes before beginning. Make room in your refrigerator for a baking sheet so the shaped cookies can chill for 20–30 minutes. Without chilling, the piped cookies will over-spread. If you chill the dough prior to shaping, the dough will be too cold/stiff to pipe.
- Line 2–3 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats, or leave unlined. If unlined, do not grease the pan.
- In a large bowl, using a handheld mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and granulated sugar together on medium-high speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract, and beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed to combine.
- On low speed, beat in the flour and salt. Turn up to high speed and beat until completely combined. On medium speed, beat in 1.5 Tablespoons of milk. You want a dough that’s creamy and pipe-able (but still thick), so you may need up to 2–2.5 Tablespoons of milk. The more milk you add, the more the cookies will spread, so chilling in step 6 is imperative. I recommend keeping the amount of milk small and using a large enough piping tip, like the ones I suggest in the post above.
- Add your large piping tip to the piping bag. Spoon a little bit of dough into the piping bag and pipe a 1–2-inch swirl or line on the prepared baking sheet. The reason I suggest only a little bit of dough to start is because the dough may still be too thick to pipe. If it’s too thick, transfer that dough back to the mixing bowl and add another 1/2 Tablespoon of milk. If the dough is creamy enough to pipe, continue piping the dough in 1–2-inch swirls or lines, 3 inches apart on the baking sheet. See video for a visual if needed. If desired, place a maraschino cherry in the center of the swirl or sprinkle the dough with sprinkles and/or coarse sugar.
- Transfer the baking sheet to the refrigerator and chill the shaped cookies for 20–30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350°F (177°C).
- Bake the chilled cookies for 12–15 minutes or until lightly browned on the sides. The cookies will spread like all cookies do, but not completely lose their shape, especially if you chilled the shaped dough. If the cookies are smaller, they will take closer to 12 minutes. Keep your eye on them. They’re done when the edges lightly brown.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Optional Chocolate: You can melt the chocolate in a double boiler or the microwave. If using the microwave: place the chopped chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl. Melt in 20-second increments in the microwave, stirring after each increment until completely melted and smooth. Dip the cookies in chocolate and top with sprinkles, if desired. Allow the chocolate to set completely at room temperature for about 1 hour or in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
- Plain cookies stay fresh in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. Cookies with chocolate or cherries stay fresh in an airtight container at room temperature for 4 days or in the refrigerator for 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: You can chill the shaped cookies on the baking sheet in the refrigerator for up to 2 days before baking. If chilling for longer than 30 minutes, cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Sometimes I pipe all the swirls close together on 1 baking sheet, then refrigerate for up to 2 days. (Since my refrigerator can’t fit 2-3 sheets at once.) After chilling, the shaped dough is cold, so you can use a flat spatula to pick up the cold shaped dough and arrange on 2-3 baking sheets. You can also freeze the un-baked shaped dough for up to 2-3 months. Bake the frozen shaped dough (no need to thaw) for an extra couple minutes. Baked cookies, with or without chocolate/cherries/sprinkles, freeze well for up to 3 months.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Piping Bag (Reusable or Disposable) | Large Piping Tip (such as Ateco 849 (pictured), Wilton 8B, Ateco 826, or Ateco 827) | Cooling Rack | Double Boiler (optional for melting chocolate)
- Almond Extract: Almond extract adds such a wonderful flavor and I don’t recommend skipping it. If desired, you can leave it out completely or add another 1/2 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract in its place. You can also substitute with 3/4 teaspoon peppermint extract, 1 teaspoon lemon extract, or another flavor extract you enjoy. (Some are more potent than others.) Adding 1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon is delicious too!
- No Piping Tip & Using a Cookie Press: This recipe is similar to my spritz cookies where I use a cookie press. If you don’t have a large piping tip and/or you want to use a cookie press, make the spritz cookies (they do not need the milk). If you don’t have a cookie press or large piping tip, snip a 1/2 inch corner off the end of a plastic bag and pipe lines/flat swirls.
- Optional Chocolate: For the best results, use a 4 ounce “baking chocolate” bar found in the baking aisle. I prefer Bakers or Ghirardelli brands. You can use semi-sweet, milk chocolate, or even white chocolate. Candy melts or almond bark work too. Do not use chocolate chips, as they contain stabilizers preventing them from melting into the proper consistency. After you melt it, if the chocolate is too thick for dipping, stir in 1 teaspoon of canola oil to help thin it out.
I just made these cookies! Absolutely delicious!
ABSOLUTELY delicious!!
These were very tasty! I think mine spread a bit too much, even with chilling. The ones on an ungreased baking sheet turned out better than the ones on a silicone baking mat, I think. I may add a little more almond extract next time, too. I absolutely love the taste of almond extract :P!
These cookies are delicious and melt in your mouth! Mine did not spread and turned out beautiful. They were difficult to pipe, but so worth the extra effort! Thanks, Sally!!
Yummy. Loved the flavor. Were not as perky as Sally’s, but I found the piping bag and tip to be easier to handle than I thought. Next time only add 1 Tbl milk and then try piping. (Went with 1 1/2 before testing. )
Unfortunately, these cookies just didn’t work for me 🙁 I only added 1.5 tbsp of milk, piped the dough into logs, chilled them overnight and then baked them, but they almost completely flattened out in the oven. The taste is still there of course – and they’re absolutely delicious – but the only way I could make them pretty was by giving them some piped chocolate decorations.
I really enjoyed making theses cookies and they were a HUGE hit at a holiday gathering. People were grabbing multiples after the first taste. I did make this recipe twice and found the almond extract made as written) to be overpowering the first time. The second time I made them (for the holiday party) I halved the almond extract and upped the vanilla by 1/4 tsp—perfect!
Didn’t have a piping tip, but just used the Wilton bag I had cut off to fit my icing tips. Made a swirl around with kind of a bulls eye in the middle and they baked perfect. I even forgot to refrigerate one tray and it baked fine keeping it’s shape. Super easy to mix, used 1 1/2 T. milk for each of two batches and it piped out of the bag easily. Taste rocks, plain, dipped in Baker’s brand Semi-sweet or sugar sprinkles. Love them and will be one of my all time holiday favorites from now on. Had so much fun making them . Great recipe!
Delcious cookies! Could not pipe them for the life of me, but everyone loved them anyways!
I made these cookies as part of a cookie gift box for family and friends. I added about two tablespoons of milk and even with a longer chilling time, they spread a bit more than Sallys did. They baked perfectly though and came out delicious with a wonderful texture. The almond extract is necessary too, so good!!!
This is a delicious spritz cookie. The directions are great. The dough was easy to pipe. The dough stiffens up with time so you need to work quickly. The decorating possibilities are endless. The cookies store very well and actually gain flavor after a day. This recipe will definitely be added to my Christmas cookie rotation.
Thanks for the challenge! They were a bit more bland than expected (I admit, I did leave out the almond extract, but I upped the vanilla), but they certainly were festive looking.
I really liked making these. It just made it difficult because i dont have any large piping tips only small. So i used the largest one i had and they looked like mini cookie churros. Very yummy in taste though. I dipped mine in dark chocolate and white. Very delicious and easy to make. They didn’t spread which was awesome. I followed the recipe and they came out great! Next time i just need to have a bigger tip.
Well, finally I made my cookies, I’m surprise how well I could work. I decided to freeze them and then, bake them when frozen. They’d a de so delicate. Delicious. Thanks Sally.
My cookies didn’t hold their shape so they weren’t picture perfect but they were DELICIOUS!!! Great recipe Sally!! Maybe someday I can master the look as well! LOL!!
Great taste have not perfected the shape of the cookies yet but taste great.
Delicious!!!! Taste like memories!!
I had an epic fail with these. Did everything as stated, chilled my piped cookies which are now cooling from the oved. They spread lost all shape they look they have split in the oven, complete disaster. No idea what went wrong but they don’t resemble all the lovely pics people have been posting. They smell great, but yea.. Not worked 🙁
Really easy and yummy. We added green food coloring and sprinkles to make wreathes. Took a little over 15 minutes to cook.
Love them!! Wonderful recipe and so excited to join in on the challenge!
I was really nervous about making these because I have never piped anything before. I had to put my dough back in the bowl and add a little extra milk in my dough because piping it was a little difficult and ended up adding about 2 Tbsp. of milk to my dough and I think 1 and 1\2 would have been better. I chilled my dough for about 1 hour but still lost some of the beautiful shape I piped on my cookies. These cookies tasted wonderful and I REALLY appreciate this recipe Sally. After looking up tutorials on how to fit a piping tip on a piping bag and piping for the first time I feel like I wouldn’t hesitate to do this again. Thank you for the endless work you do to teach us how to bake!! Love
This recipe is so easy and tasted great. I love that it was simple to kee my sons attention before he turned back into a crazy 3 year old. I will be making these again as they were so light and soft and tasty.
I made these, and they taste great! However, I put in 2.5 Tbsp of milk and they were still hard to pipe through my large tip. I finally resorted to a ziplock bag with the corner cut off, and they sort of look like…turds. LOL – Next time I’ll probably thin it out a liiitttllleee bit more. Thanks Sally – this was my first monthly challenge, and I had fun! 🙂
These cookies are delicious! I’d like to try them in a cookie press next time.
I made these today and had a really difficult time piping them. I gave up after piping 12 and just formed the rest into balls and flattened them slightly. I baked some with sprinkles and others I dipped in chocolate. I made some into cookie sandwiches with chocolate in the middle. They spread more than I thought they would but They taste great though!
First time making cookies like these, and I love them, they so delicious, and don’t take long to make which is also a plus for me!!!
I’m all about almond and these cookies did not disappoint!! I used the Wilton 1M tip, 2T of milk and chilled in the fridge overnight. Still had a decent amount of spreading, but they did retain some shape. I’ll 100% make these again next year with a larger tip and maybe half the milk. These are great!
Can you freeze these after being dipped I. Chocolate?
Hi Beth! Yes, these can be frozen after being dipped in chocolate.
Thank you! I made them today and my kids unanimously voted them their favorite cookies ever. Fantastic recipe!
Oh my gosh these were so goooooood! I made them for a work Xmas party and they were a huge hit! Thanks Sally!
Made these cookies today. They did spread more than I would like, probably should go for less milk next time, but they still taste delicious !