Soft Butter Cookies

These Soft Butter Cookies are delicate, tender and are melt in your mouth buttery! These cookies have a classic swirl design that is impressive and so easy to make at home! The best, basic butter cookie recipe.

Author: Liz at Owlbbaking.com
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 13 minutes
Total Time: 28 minutes
Yield: 18 cookies
Category: Cookies
Cuisine: American

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter (softened)
⅔ cup granulated sugar
2 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla extract (other extracts can be used)
2 cups all purpose flour
¼ tsp salt (if you need to use salted butter, omit this)
2 tbsp milk (whole or 2%) (more if needed, but the amount of milk will vary by batch due to the moisture level in the other ingredients)

Use fruit jam or chocolate to sandwich cookies together or dip in chocolate (optional)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F and line cookie trays with parchment (if the air temp is on the warmer side, it is a good idea to chill the cookies for 30 minutes before baking, so be sure to plan accordingly).
In a large bowl, cream the butter & sugar until light and fluffy using a hand mixer.
Add the egg yolks and vanilla and mix until well combined.
Add the flour & salt to the mixture and mix on low speed until large crumbles form.
Add the 2 tablespoons of milk and mix until the milk is absorbed. If the dough is not sticky, add another TEASPOON of milk until it is sticky and has the consistency of thick buttercream. Avoid using too much milk as this can cause the cookies to spread too much!
Transfer the dough to an extra large, heavy duty piping bag fitted with a large open star tip.
Pipe the dough into rosettes by using the following motion; holding the bag upright, pipe the dough onto the tray and pull up slightly, then wrap around the center and pull gently to release.
Chill if needed.
Bake in the oven until light golden brown on the edges, about 13 – 15 minutes.
Allow to fully cool on baking sheet.