Christmas Butter Cookies
Christmas Butter Cookies are a holiday tradition and are easy to make and require no cookie press. With their melt-in-your-mouth texture and buttery flavor, they are a wonderful treat to bake and share during the holiday season.
Servings: 30 cookies
Equipment
- large mxing bowl
- parchment paper or silicone baking mat
- small microwavable bowl (for melting the chocolate in)
Ingredients
- 1 cup undalted butter, softened
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 egg
- 2¼ cups flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 - 2 tablespoons milk
- 4 ounces Ghirardelli Semi-Sweet baking chocolate
- maraschino cherries
- sprinkles
- coarse sugar crystals
Instructions
- Line 2–3 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats, or leave them unlined. If unlined, do not grease the pan.
- In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar using a hand mixer or stand mixer. Mix on medium-high speed until smooth and creamy.
- Then, add the egg and extracts, and beat on high speed until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again if needed.
- 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 1/2 tablespoons of milk. The dough should be creamy and easy to pipe, but still thick, so you may need up to 2 – 2 1/2 tablespoons of milk. I suggest adding extra milk (if needed) a little at a time so that you won’t have too soft of a dough.
- Grab a piping bag and add your large tip to it. Spoon a little bit of dough into the piping bag and pipe a 2-inch swirl or line on your prepared baking sheet. If the dough is piped easily, you’re ready to finish pressing the rest of the dough on the pan. If it’s not, scoop out that dough back into the mixing bowl and add another 1/2 tablespoon of milk. Once you create the swirls, place a maraschino cherry in the center of the swirl.
- I piped out more designs and left some plain and others I added coarse sugar crystals to the dough.
- Pop the baking sheet in the fridge for 20-30 minutes to chill the cookie shapes. While they’re chilling, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Bake the chilled cookies for 12-15 minutes, or until they’re lightly browned around the edges. They’ll spread a bit, but they should hold their shape, especially if you have chilled the dough. They’re done when the edges are lightly brown.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the pans for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. If desired you can dip part of the cookies into melted chocolate.
- You use the microwave to melt the chocolate put the chopped chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and melt it in 20-second bursts, stirring after each burst until it’s smooth. Dip the cookies in the melted chocolate and add sprinkles if you want. Let the chocolate harden at room temperature for an hour or in the fridge for 20 minutes.
Notes
see blog post for more tips and variations
recipe inspired by and adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction