Assorted Butter cookies are known for their rich, buttery flavor and melt-in-your-mouth texture. These cookies stand out not just for their delicious taste but also for the simplicity of using one basic dough to create an array of shapes, sizes, and variations.
Making butter cookies is as easy as mixing a few basic ingredients – butter, sugar, flour, and some flavoring. Once you have this simple dough ready, you can shape it into anything you like: circles, hearts, stars, or even animals! No need for fancy ingredients or complicated steps. Just one dough, endless possibilities.
If you like to try more simple recipes try my 3 ingredients butterscotch haystacks, 3 Ingredients Shortbread Cookies and Almond snowball cookies.
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Ingredients
For the cookies
- Butter
- Sugar
- Egg yolks
- All purpose flour
- unsweetened coco powder
To decorate
- White and dark chocolate chips
- Strawberry or any jam of your choice
- Powdered sugar and granulated sugar
- Chopped nuts
- Sprinkles
How to make assorted butter cookies
- Mix Butter and Sugar: Beat the softened butter and granulated sugar together for 2-3 minutes until creamy.
- Incorporate Egg Yolks: Add the egg yolks to the mixture and beat for a few more minutes until well combined.
- Blend in Flour: Gradually add the all-purpose flour into the mixture. Mix or knead by hand until the dough becomes smooth.
- Divide and Customize: Split the dough into two equal portions. In one portion, add extra flour and knead until it's fully mixed. In the other half, incorporate cocoa powder until it's well combined.
- Chill the Dough: Wrap both portions of dough separately in plastic wrap. Refrigerate them for at least 2 hours to firm up.
- Roll and Cut: After chilling, roll out the dough and use cookie cutters of various shapes—circles, stars, hearts, or any other desired shape.
- Bake: Place the cut-out shapes on 2 lined baking sheets and bake for 10-12 minutes in preheated oven (350F/176C). Once the cookies are baked, allow them to cool completely before decorating.
To decorate the butter cookies
- Melt the Chocolate: Melt the white and dark chocolate chips separately using a microwave or a double boiler. Be careful not to overheat them; stir occasionally until smooth.
- Decorating with Melted Chocolate:
- Use a spoon or a piping bag to drizzle or spread the melted chocolate onto the cooled cookies.
- For a more precise design, you can also pour the melted chocolate into a small zip-lock bag, snip a tiny corner, and use it as a makeshift piping bag.
- Or dip cookies in the melted chocolate and sprinkle chopped nuts.
- Create the Sandwiches:
- Spread a dollop of jam on the flat side of one cookie in each pair.
- Gently press another cookie (flat side down) onto the jam-covered side, creating a sandwich.
Watch the video below for detail visual instructions.
Equipment
- Stand Mixer or Hand Mixer: Useful for creaming butter and sugar, beating eggs, and mixing dough. Hand mixers are convenient for smaller batches.
- Mixing Bowls: Have a variety of sizes for mixing ingredients and accommodating different quantities of dough.
- Measuring Cups and Spoons: Essential for precise measurements of dry and wet ingredients.
- Rolling Pin: Used to roll out cookie dough evenly to the desired thickness.
- Cookie Cutters: Come in various shapes and sizes for cutting dough into different forms.
- Baking Sheets: Rimmed baking sheets lined with parchment paper or silicone baking mats to prevent sticking.
- Cooling Racks: Allow cookies to cool uniformly and prevent sogginess by allowing air circulation underneath.
- Piping Bags and Tips: Useful for intricate designs or decorating cookies with icing.
Helpful tips
- Room Temperature Butter: Allow butter to soften at room temperature before starting. It helps in easier mixing and smoother dough.
- Chilling the Dough: Refrigerating the dough allows flavors to meld and helps cookies hold their shape during baking.
- Uniformity in Size: Try to keep cookies a similar size and thickness for even baking.
- Keep an Eye on Them: Watch cookies closely toward the end of the baking time as they can quickly go from golden to overdone.
- Proper Cooling: Let the cookies cool completely on a wire rack before decorating or storing to avoid condensation and retain crispness.
- Experiment and Have Fun: Feel free to experiment with shapes, decorations, and flavors. It's all about enjoying the baking process!
Other cookie recipes to try
Recipe video
Assorted butter cookies
Equipment
- 1 Rolling Pin
- 2 cookie sheets
- cookie cutters
Ingredients
- 14 tbsp(200g) butter, softened
- ½ cup+2 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 3 egg yolks
- 2 ½ cup(280g)+ 2 tablespoon extra all purpose flour
- pinch of salt
- 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
To decorate
- white and dark chocolate chips
- strawberry or any jam of your choice
- powdered sugar
- chopped nuts
- sprinkles
Instructions
- In a large bowl, beat the softened butter and granulated sugar together for 2-3 minutes until creamy.
- Add the egg yolks to the mixture and beat for a few more minutes until well combined.
- Gradually add the all-purpose flour into the mixture. Mix or knead by hand until the dough becomes smooth.
- Split the dough into two equal portions. In one portion, add extra flour and knead until it's fully mixed. In the other half, incorporate cocoa powder until it's well combined.
- Wrap both portions of dough separately in plastic wrap. Refrigerate them for at least 2 hours to firm up.
- Preheat the oven to 350F/176C and line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- After chilling, roll out each dough portion to the desired thickness. Use cookie cutters to cut the dough into various shapes.
- Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes. Once the cookies are baked, allow them to cool completely before decorating.
To decorate the cookies
- Melt the white and dark chocolate chips separately using a microwave or a double boiler. Be careful not to overheat them; stir occasionally until smooth.
- Use a spoon or a piping bag to drizzle or dip the cookies into the melted chocolate. Apply chopped nuts and sprinkles.
- For the sandwich cookies, Spread a dollop of jam on the flat side of one cookie in each pair.Gently press another cookie (flat side down) onto the jam-covered side, creating a sandwich.