Easy Homemade Butter Cookies
Easy Homemade Butter Cookies are the classic sugar cookies. Soft, crumbly, and irresistible, they require just a few basic ingredients and a little bit of your time. They are as perfect for everyday enjoyment, as they are for celebrations. Shall we?
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Background
Butter cookies are simple, reliable sugar cookies everyone enjoys, but they also have a reputation for being tricky.
Get the butter, flour or temperature slightly off, and you've got a crumbly mess on your hands. Or even worse, flat, greasy cookies.
However, you're in luck!
Our recipe is easy, precise, and forgiving. With a few ingredients and chilled dough, these butter cookies will come out great from the first time.
Let's be honest - butter cookies aren't supposed to be showpieces. They're meant to be easy to enjoy with coffee, not fussed over. They're the true comfort food.
And Santa loves them too! 😉
Why You'll Love Butter Cookies
🧈Traditional Butter Cookies. This is the simplest, easiest and most reliable recipe for everyone's favorite classic cookie.
🥣 Minimal Ingredients. Only 4 staple ingredients necessary. (Five if you count vanilla.)
⏰ Prep Ahead. The dough chills overnight, making for stress-free baking.
🍪 Perfect Taste and Texture. Slightly crisp edges with a tender center, these butter cookies are melt-in-your-mouth great.
Ingredients
Here are the four (vanilla is optional) ingredients needed to make phenomenal butter cookies at home!
- Butter. Unsalted butter. Substitute with margarine, but be aware it may affect the cookie’s texture and taste.
- Egg yolks. Use regular eggs, no substitutions.
- Granulated sugar. Regular sugar is best. Avoid substitutions for this recipe.
- Vanilla extract. Sugar or liquid.
- All-purpose flour. Regular flour gives the cookies structure. Avoid whole wheat.
- Optional toppings. Sprinkles, small candies, or chocolate pieces can be added on top before baking.
Instructions
Here are the easy instructions for making butter cookies at home.
Step 1. Mix butter, egg yolks, sugar and vanilla with a hand mixer.
Step 2. Add flour in batches and mix with hand. Work into a hard dough.
Step 3. Divide into 3 pieces. Work each piece. Wrap and put in fridge.
Step 4. (Not pictured) Bring the doughdown to room temperature.
Step 5. (Not pictured) Roll each one out. Shape cookies. Transfer to pan.
Step 6. (Not pictured) Bake.
Variations
- A citrus touch. Add a pinch of lemon or orange zest to the dough.
- Decorate. Add sprinkles, M&M's, gummy bears, etc.
- Chocolate. Drizzle some chocolate syrup on warm cookies.
- Jam. Check out our jam butter cookies.
Expert Tips
- Butter. Use softened, but not melted butter. It should be soft enough to pass with a finger, but not melting.
- Dough. The dough has to be chilled overnight (or at least 4 hours). This helps shaping the cookies later because it gives butter and flour time to integrate.
- Measuring. Although we're relaxed about most cookie recipes, this one is the one you'll have to be extremely precise for.
- Baking. Bake the cookies until just set. They should stay pale. Over-baking them will burn them in an instant.
Handling
Here are a few tips on how to store and serve these easy homemade butter cookies.
Serving. Butter cookies are best with coffee, tea, or a cordial. They're just the right fit for the holidays, religious celebrations, or even everyday gatherings.
Storing. Keep the cookies in a covered or sealed container in a cool pantry for up to a couple of weeks. They're perfect for making ahead.
Freezing. Freezing the dough is recommended. However, avoid freezing baked butter cookies. Wrap the dough tightly in cling foil, then place it in a freezer-safe container with a lid for up to 3 months. (Label the container with the made date.)
When ready to bake, thaw the dough overnight in the refrigerator, then let it rest at room temperature before shaping and baking.
Recipe FAQs
Far from it!
Despite being called "dry" cookies (suhi kolačići) in the Balkans, they're far from being dry. The butter makes them extra soft and melty.
Absolutely!
Use cutters, or a knife, and let your imagination run. Our suggestion is to keep the cookies on the small side.
Yes.
These are the cookies to make a few days in advance.
Sure.
Candy like M&M's, sprinkles, or gummy bears are a great addition.
Egg yolks add richness to butter cookies, and keep them tender.
(Egg whites work better for meringue inspired cookies.)
No!
This is a recipe for simple cookies with four simple ingredients.
Changing the volume of any of the ingredients may result in cookies that crumble or are too greasy.
Absolutely!
In fact, this is a recipe for beginners. And the result will be far from beginners' cookies!
Yup!
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap tightly, and transfer it to a container with a lid, and freeze up to 3 months.
When ready to make, thaw overnight, then bring to room temp before shaping and baking.
Just a pinch.
If they spread too much this means that the dough was not chilled enough in the fridge.
Thoughts?
Lastly, if you made Easy Homemade Butter Cookies (Puter Kolačići) and liked them, please consider giving it a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5-star) rating. This helps others find the recipe more easily!
Also, feel free to leave a comment (I read each one!), and don't forget to tag a photo #balkanlunchbox, or us @balkanlunchbox, on IG.
Prijatno, Dobar Tek, and Bon Appetit!
Easy Homemade Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 sticks butter (8oz or 1 cup) room temperature or slightly softer
- 2 cups flour
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- (Optional) M&M's, gummy bears, etc.
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl place butter, and mix it for a minute with a mixer set on the lowest setting. Add egg yolks, sugar and vanilla. Continue mixing, gradually increasing the speed until completely integrated. Remove the mixer.
- Continue kneading with your hands while adding the flour in batches. The dough will be hard to work with, but keep mixing to the best of your ability, adding flour in between. (It takes patience, and about 15-20 minutes.)
- When the dough is hard, buttery and the thickness of an ear lobe, it's ready to rest. Divide into three equal parts. Knead each part a little bit longer.
- Wrap each piece in plastic wrap, and transfer it to the fridge overnight (or at least 4 hours, and up to 36 hours).
- When ready to make the cookies, take the dough out of the fridge and let it warm up to room temperature.
- Sprinkle a generous amounts of flour onto your working area. Unwrap the first piece of dough, and use a rolling pin to roll it out to the thickness of three pennies stacked together. Use cookie cutters (or a knife), of your choice to cut up the dough. (If there is dough left over, add it to the next piece.) Heat oven to 375 °F (190 °C)
- (Optional) Top with M&M's, gummy bears, etc.
- Repeat for all of the dough.
- Take a baking pan and cover it with parchment paper. Place cookies onto it leaving some space in between each. (You'll probably have to bake in batches. Don't bake two pans consecutively!)
- Transfer to the oven and bake. They only need a short time to be done, so keep checking the cookies. If they start to turn golden yellow, loosely cover with foil or parchment paper. (They have a tendency to burn fast, so check often!) Depending on your oven it will take between 10-15 minutes in total to bake one batch.
- Cool completely, and then serve.
- Serve with coffee, tea, or a cordial. Great for holidays, celebrations, and everyday gatherings.Store in a sealed container in a cool pantry for up to 2 weeks. Ideal for making ahead.Freeze the dough only (not baked cookies). Wrap tightly and store in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Label with the date. Thaw overnight in the fridge, then bring to room temperature before baking.
Notes
- Nutrition Information
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Hi Aida! It sounds like your blog is really picking up steam! I just wanted to say that I love your recipes, stories, and photography. There are not many books out there on Bosnian cooking. And the ones that are out are difficult to understand, mainly due to less than ideal translation and the inability to equate ingredients to things available outside Bosnia. I have tried Bosnian recipes on other sites, but they too are often written by someone who is outside North America, and so is not familiar with the ingredients and methodologies we use here. They also often leave out a lot of crucial information in preparation that may be common sense to the Bosnian who has prepared that recipe for 40+ years, but is essential to someone who has never seen or tasted that dish. That is often a deterrent for even trying the recipe. Your recipes are written in great detail, addressing substitutions for ingredients that the reader can find at their local grocery store. And, you are responsive to your readers! Your website has truly filled a niche. I am so grateful for the time and energy you spend creating the recipes, photographing the steps, writing the stories that accompany them, and putting it all together in an easy-to-read, easy-to-navigate website, even with so much going on in your own life! I visit your page often, at least once a week, and several of your recipes have become a part of my weekly meal rotation (most popular in my home: your goulash, chicken paprikash, stuffed peppers, everyday chocolate squares, and scruffies, just to name a few!). I look forward to trying many more recipes in 2017. Happy new year!
Dear Marwah,
Your suggestions are adored within my family! We even have a joke - if something doesn't come out well one of us will be like "I wonder how Marwah did it, I better check the comments!"
On a serious note, thank you for coming by and trying out the recipes. I'm glad not only that your family likes them, but that you yourself like the food. It really is tasty. While it can be heavy for everyday, it's very adjustable. You can find a little bit of every type of person that crossed the Balkans in its cuisine. In a way, Balkan/ Bosnian cuisine reminds me of the US - there are so many different ingredients (people) that make this one great unit.
It's for you and people like you this blog was intended for.
I hope you'll continue stopping by in the New Year. I wish you happy holidays, and may 2017 be your best one yet!
Dear Aida, thank you so much for sharing with us this detailed analysis of the traffic and strategies you implement on the blog. It is priceless, especially for such blog-dummies as myself 🙂 And what is even more amazing, you still have so ambitious plans and clear goals that I'm sure they will lead you toward spectacular success! I deeply believe that you are for the Bosnian cuisine what Julia Child was for the French cuisine. You are a real lighthouse in this strange ocean of obvious recipes which are apparently not so obvious for all those who haven’t been a Bosnian granny in the previous life 🙂 When I close my eyes I see your future book and a TV show 🙂 It’s is honor to have you in my life, not only because you are such fantastic blogger and a cook, but because you are so inspiring and great person 😛 You rock girl <3 <3
Darling!
Glad this space provided a platform for us to meet!
Thank you for the comments although I'm far from filling Julia's shoes. I'll settle for her fantastic laugh though.
Hopefully, some of this analysis is helpful. Reviewing and comparing numbers gives a good perspective. If you can write it down, you can measure it. And if you can measure it, you can see your progress and improve.
I love seeing your site grow, and the minimalism you utilize with food photography to say the entire story. You are talented!
Thank you also for honoring Balkan cuisine by creating the fusion I thought was impossible. You've kept important details while providing something new. Where others have failed, you've effectively modernized Balkan cuisine for the Western palate. That's like Tesla-alternating-currents level talent!
And I look forward to becoming a strange Polish-Bosnian-American granny with you. 🙂
This is a GREAT blog. My husband is Bosnian and is going to LOOOOOVE anything I cook from here.
Hi and welcome to the blog! Glad you find it useful. Let me know how it turns out and happy cooking!