Danish Butter Cookies
Raise your hand if you have memories of that iconic blue tin of butter cookies always making an appearance around Christmas *hand raised*. Well, you’re going to love this recipe! These Danish Butter Cookies taste just like the ones in the Royal Dansk blue tin; this simple recipe makes the best piped butter cookies and will immediately give you all of the warm holiday feels.
Back in September (which seems like a million years ago at this point), I asked readers for holiday recipe requests, and Susan said she would love a recipe for the Danish butter cookies in the blue tin. There was always, always, always that blue tin of assorted butter cookies at my grandma’s during the holidays, and I had totally forgotten about it until she mentioned it.
I immediately put it on my list and started testing some recipes not very long after. I was positively elated when I landed on the perfect combination of butter, sugar, egg, and flour that produced a cookie that tastes exactly like those popular Danish butter cookies!
Ingredients in Danish Butter Cookies
These cookies have a super simple list of ingredients (only six ingredients, to be exact!), it’s all about combining them in the right quantities to give them that ultra-buttery, yet tender and slightly firm texture that we know and love so much. This is all you need:
- Butter, which is arguably the most important ingredient! These are butter cookies, so the butter flavor shines; I recommend using a nice quality butter (my favorite is Kerrygold).
- Sugar to sweeten things up. I experimented with both powdered sugar and granulated sugar, and much preferred the flavor and texture that regular granulated sugar provides. I also sprinkle a little on the top of the unbaked cookies for a little extra crunch.
- Egg to keep the cookies tender and act as a binder. I tried some recipes that did not use an egg, but found them to be too doughy tasting and the texture too crumbly.
- Flour to hold everything together and ensure the cookies keep their shape.
- Vanilla and salt for an extra punch of flavor and balance.
How to Make Danish Butter Cookies
This is an easy butter cookie recipe to mix together; the only extra step is piping the dough into circles, which gives them that characteristic swirl look. Let’s discuss!
Make the Cookie Dough – This dough follows the very familiar mixing steps of creaming together the butter and sugar, then adding the egg, vanilla and salt, then gradually adding the flour. The dough will be quite thick, which the consistency we’re going for.
Pipe the Cookies – This is where the magic happens for these cookies! In order to get that amazing swirl look, the dough MUST be piped. You will need to use a large open-star piping tip (my preferred tip is the Ateco #827, but you can also use the Wilton 1M), and pipe the cookies into 2-inch circles. If you don’t have piping tips, you can simply put the dough into a plastic baggie and snip off the end. It won’t have the same swirl effect, but you’ll get nice circles. Another alternative is using a cookie press to make different shaped cookies out of the dough.
Bake and Cool the Cookies – Before I put the cookies into the oven, I give them a little extra sprinkle of sugar for a bit of crunch that I love. You only want to bake the cookies until they are barely light brown, so as not to make them crisp; you want them to be nice and tender. Finally, allow the cookies to cool completely before you eat them; the cookies will continue to set as they cool, so it’s an important piece of achieving that wonderfully tender consistency!
Danish Butter Cookies Recipe Notes
A quick recap of all the important tidbits to making the best Danish butter cookies in your own kitchen!
- Use good-quality butter (my favorite is Kerrygold).
- You can substitute an equal amount of vanilla bean paste for the vanilla extract to give the cookies little flecks of vanilla.
- My preferred piping tip for these cookies is the Ateco #827, but you can also use the Wilton 1M.
- You can also use a cookie press to make different shaped cookies out the dough.
- Allow the cookies to cool completely before eating or storing them.
- The cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week, or frozen for up to 3 months.
I LOVE receiving recipe requests from readers because they often spark a forgotten memory and allow me to recreate something that I otherwise may never have attempted.
I hope everyone enjoys these wonderfully tender butter cookies this holiday season. Those beautiful buttery swirls will add a little extra pop to your Christmas cookie platters!
If You Like These Danish Butter Cookies, Try These Recipes:
- The Best Snickerdoodle Recipe
- Chocolate Chip Tea Cookies
- Snowball Cookies
- Soft and Chewy Sugar Cookies
- Chocolate-Dipped Shortbread Cookies
One year ago: 2017 Holiday Gift Guide: Cookbooks
Four years ago: Turtle Candies
Five years ago: Panettone (Italian Christmas Bread)
Six years ago: Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
Danish Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (227 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons (1.5 teaspoons) vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- 2 cups (284 g) all-purpose flour
- Granulated sugar, for sprinkling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheeting with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until combined and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the salt, vanilla and egg, and beat until combined, about 1 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add the flour until mostly combined. Give a final few stirs with a rubber spatula to ensure the flour is totally incorporated (the dough will be thick).
- Transfer the dough to a decorating bag fitted with a large open star tip. Pipe the dough into 2-inch circles on the parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Sprinkle with sugar.
- Bake, one pan at a time, until light golden brown, 15 to 17 minutes. Allow to cool completely before storing or serving.
Notes
- Use good-quality butter (my favorite is Kerrygold).
- You can substitute an equal amount of vanilla bean paste for the vanilla extract to give the cookies little flecks of vanilla.
- My preferred piping tip for these cookies is the Ateco #827, but you can also use the Wilton 1M.
- You can also use a cookie press to portion out the dough.
- Allow the cookies to cool completely before eating or storing them.
- The cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week, or frozen for up to 3 months.
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
[photos by Ari of Well Seasoned]
HELP!!!
I bought the Ateco #827 tip, but even the large coupler does not fit over the tip… is there such a thing as an XL coupler?
thanks you
Phyllis
These cookies were hard to pipe (i was using a small five star tip that I have from Cuisinart since it was my best option) but it was honestly worth it in the end! These cookies are so delicious, amazing with coffee. I love that they’re not just stuffed with sugar, which is a baking pet peeve for me. Instead, the buttery and slightly nutty flavor stands out. I will be making them often! :)
Dough too thick to pipe with a 809 ateco. They are baking and look like they are frying
Normally, when I bake a batch of cookies, I freeze the dough; this time, I froze the extra cookies.
15 mins in the convection oven at 90ºC, and then an hour or so to cool.
Tasted AS good. I really LOVE these cookies.
These turned out beautifully; were fun to make and delicious! I followed the recipe exactly (using Land O’Lakes butter) and an Ateco 826 tip. No problems with piping. Thanks for a great recipe!
Mixture was way too thick to pipe effectively, going to try with much less flour another day and update.
I think this is the second or third recipe that I have tried. What I loved about this was the fact that it has about 1/3 less sugar (and twice the butter) than my last one.
I might try to dip some of them in chocolate for an additional kick.
These are going on my favorites list, for sure
To much flour!!!!!
If you want a good TASTING cookie THE ONE BELOW 👌 but IF IT JUST A COOKIE FOR SHOW THAN THE ONE ABOVE WILL DO.👌
Quick note stir or side to side much better for a Good Tasting and Good Looking Cookie with some special techniques!!!
Temperature 350 no more than 15mn depending on the size of the cookie
1 cup flour
1 stick butter
1 egg
1Cup sugar
1 teaspoon of flavor
Ewww – Well when you triple the sugar and all but eliminate the flour, you wind up with a gloppy super-sweet mess. TERRIBLE revision and totally over-sweet with no form.
Original cookie recipe is a WINNER!
Hi I tried this recipe and normally your recipes come out perfect but these cookies I felt were too doughy and not enough sugar. I used the gram measurements. What should I do to make them less doughy and should I add more sugar ? If so how much pls
Just whipped these up….love the taste of the batter…In the oven as I type. I used the Ateco 827 tip. At first I didn’t think anything would come out, but it did and then as I got used to where to apply the pressure for piping (closer to the tip, not at the top), the dough came out easier and easier in nice swirls…almost like wreaths. Next batch will be tighter like rosettes with sugar sprinkles on top. I’ll wait till they are out of the oven and cooled before finishing this comment.
I only baked the first batch for 13 minutes as someone else suggested. Very delicious!. Crispy on the edges, creamy on the inside. They spread/flattened out, however – but still held the design of the tip – and I see that the second batch, although more compact and tighter, have spread as well. I’ll cook those 2 minutes longer and see if the crisp goes all the way through and see which I like best.
Baked for 3 more minutes and that made a huge difference in texture. First one is nice, but the second batch is classic butter cookie. I think the sugar sprinkles added an extra kick of sweetness as well. Overall…great cookie. Would like it more if it didn’t spread/flatten. Maybe it is the egg…??
I’ll make again and recommend!!
I have not made this recipe but I am a professional baker.
It will spread due to egg (and butter) but it’s the only moisture in the recipe that allows it to be piped with ease.
Eliminate the egg/moisture component and it will be too crumbly and un-pipeable.
I made these cookies and I piped half and used a cookie press for the rest. I had no issues piping. I did put them in the fridge before baking. They were perfect and I used generic butter. Going to use the Kerrigold tonight. Have to make again as they are all gone. 1,000 out of 10 for sure!
I have to say this was not a good recipe for me. I guess you need a tip the size of the Titanic, and more strength in your hands than I do.
I wasn’t planning on making any cookies for Christmas this year but I think I’ll have to give these a try.
My grandaughter and I just made this cookies as a tryout for our up coming cookie exchange party and we can’t stop eating them. They are delicious. Thank you for these amazing easy to make cookies.💖
My grandaughter and I love this easy and amazing cookie recipe!!!!
Why do you add egg? No other butter cookie recipes of this type add egg?
I want to know how to order this. Am from Pakistan. My mother love these cookies soo much. Kindly guide me how to order it for my mum please
Dry but what do you expect 🤷
I was excited to try this recipe. The cookies came out incredible! They had a rich buttery taste with a soft melt-in-your-mouth texture. Just the right amount of sweetness in my opinion. Perfect for afternoon tea or well, any time really. Adds a delightfully sweet note to your day. Personally, I used kerrygold butter and measured in cups. Had no issues or complaints. The only tweak was bake time to 13mins. My oven baked them at a faster rate. 10/10 recommend.
Be advised: use the best quality ingredients available at your disposal for optimum results.
The taste was good. I added some orange zest to the batter.
The flour weight is off. 2 cups of flour weighs 256 grams .
The Wilton 1M tip did not work. I had to transfer the batter to a cookie press I order to get the round shape.
When I make these again I will increase the orange zest to 1 whole orange and pipe the ring smaller than 2 inches.
The taste was good, but the method was off.
I have made these a couple of times. This is the best batch yet. Took the advice of some of the other comments and used just a little less flour, made sure butter was a room temp as well as the egg. Mixed the flour in 1/4 cup at a time and used cookie press. Again best batch yet!!!! Highly recommend this recipe 💖
Love this recipe.
My very first time and it turns out yummy.
I made a little adjustment to the original recipe so I could pipe it well.
Here is what I did:
1. I used spatula just to mix the butter and sugar till fluffy.
2. I added flour little by little. I took out 2 tablespoons of flour every one cup and substitute with 1 tablespoon of full-cream milk powder.
3. I let the dough rest fr 15 mins at room temperature before piping.
The dough turns out soft and I could pipe it easily onto the tray.
I refrigerated the piped dough in the fridge for 15 mins as it helps to keep the form.
The cookies are yummy and melt in the mouth.
My son-in-law loves Danish butter cookies, so I was excited to find this recipe. I made them last night and can’t believe more people haven’t complained about how impossible they are to pipe. I even got the Ateco #827 tip. First browneyed baker recipe that hasn’t worked. Very disappointed.
Yes, it was impossible to pipe, especially if you weighed the flour. The weight was totally off. I had to put the batter in a cookie press with a big whole nozzle.
Hello😊 Can I sandwich the cookies together with strawberry jam??
Excellent! This will be added to my cookie rotation…so easy and delicious! I typically use Challenge brand butter but I may splurge for some Kerrygold and see if it makes a difference.
Yumbo GoodLickin’ Good!!!😎🤗
How many cookies does this recipe make?
The top of the recipe says 36.
My mother in law always made these danish butter cookies . She used food coloring to make have the dough red and the other green. She both in the piping bag one color on each side abs they red and green cookies looked so pretty and tasted delicious. This recipe brought back fond memories so I can’t wait to make them !
I got on this site for key lime cheese cake… I know, summer’s gone… found the Danish Butter Cookies! Everything looks s[o good I want to lick the screen on my pad!!!😋❣
Delicious recipe, better than factory for sure! You definitely need that large open star tip, ours was too small and the dough is too thick for a smaller tip… the bag burst, ha. If the dough warms up enough to go through the smaller tip it doesn’t hold shape in the oven and your efforts are wasted.
Mt daughter-in-law loves those cookies, but can’t have gluten. 😟 What would be the best sub for the wheat flour? Thanx
I have found buckwheat flour to work well or perhaps a combination of rice flour and buckwheat.
I use King Arthur Measure for Measure when I make gluten-free recipes. Works great.
I have not made your recipe yet but the ones I’ve tried don’t have the good taste just taste of flour. Any ideas?
Just made these! They are spot in in taste and a little more delicate than the tinned ones. Perfect Danish cookie I’ve been searching for!
To avoid flattening out
Must use cane sugar. The package must say cane or it will be beet sugar.
To avoid too stiff dough
Different brand of flours are drier so best to weigh it rather than scoop.
Excellent recipe. I made ONE modification. Kjeldsens (my favourites) put “yolk” as an ingredient instead of “egg”, so I subbed 60 g yolk for egg. I’ve made a few batches. They all turned out improved. I made according to your recipe first batch.
My son subbed 1.5 tsp salt by mistake when he tried. The next batch he added 620 g flour instead of 520 g flour for a double batch. He’s no longer trusted to measure. -_-
However. We all love the recipe and will be keeping it.
Thanks For Sharing this amazing recipe. My family loved it. I will be sharing this recipe with my friends. Hope the will like it.
This is a very good buttery cookie. You can’t just eat one. I baked a batch this morning and the aroma in my house was so good. I even pipe them. The texture was super soft to be able to pipe them. Thanks for such a great recipe. I will bake them again and again.
These are good, but to be like the Royal Dansk cookies, you need coconut.
What kind of coconut
does royal dansk put in
Their cookie dough?
If you look on the Royal Dansk tin, I believe the ingredients list coconut oil. I dislike that flavor which is why I was excited to try this recipe. It’s delish!!!!
Found the mix to be too thick to pipe. Ended up spooning it on the baking sheet. Any tips to make it easier next time? Still baking, will let you know about the taste in a bit :)
Reduce the flour. You may have made a mistake. My son’s batch came out like you described — about 10-20 % too much flour. They’ll be more solid and more dense and more filling. We’ve eaten them.
hello i’m 14 and made this it was very simple to make and understand and had one complication (my piping bag burst not the fault of you of course ) but it tasted delicious and fun to make
Really good! I added a little milk like the others and they came out GREAT
This recipe didn’t work for me, the batter was extremely greasy and cookies spread paper thin.
The cookies tasted great will make them again!
But they did not hold there shape! Don’t know what
I did wrong!
Hi. When we baked the cookies, which heat function was used to baked it? Lower heat only? Or upper lower?
They should be baked at 350 degrees F.
I was looking for a new recipe for pressed cookies when I saw this recipe. Delicious! And it worked great with the press. These cookies will definitely be in the Christmas line up going forward.
These cookies are delicious. I found them hard to pipe as well. I’m making a second batch today, I will add a little more milk as other commenters suggest. I made these for Christmas, I used green sugar & sprinkles & they turned out so cute!
I was about to write a scathing review of this recipe because of how truly impossible it proved to pipe. (Yes, I used the Wilton 1m.) I squeezed until my hand muscles burned and the silicone bag tie broke. Then I asked my [martial artist] husband to squeeze. He squeezed and strained and grunted until the bag split down the side, but no cookie dough came through the tip.
I put the dough into the oven the soften and got out another bag. Same process.
THEN I READ THE REVIEW that mentioned ADDING MILK.
I added a 1/6 cup whole milk. My hands still burned as I strained, but now the slowest, jagged little mass of dough began to poke out. I returned the dough to the bowl and added another 1/6 cup milk.
Now we’re talking. Still a total workout to squeeze out–but possible.
With the 1/3 cup milk the cookies brown faster (I cut the bake time to 14 minutes), but they do taste good!
I’m totally mystified why every other reviewer hasn’t had this issue (maybe everyone else is using DUCK eggs? I mean, that would be very Danish…), but I’m happy for the milk-wise reviewer who pointed me in the right direction!
I made these once a few years ago and also had the damndest time piping them! Gonna try adding milk as well!
I recommend creaming the butter longer if it’s that hard to pipe without adding liquid, maybe even with a whisk attachment. The butter being super fluffy (like a super fluffy buttercream) will help offset the amount of flour you’ll be adding. I tend to go for double in size with butter, it will make the batter super soft and easy to pipe. I also recommend folding in the flour, rather than doing that with the hand/standmixer, because overmixing the dough will also make it tougher
I have made these several times. They are great Christmas presents. Everyone loved them!
I love this butter cookie recipe. They are so easy to make and taste better than the ones in the blue tin. Good buttery flavor, very tender cookie. Good as is, or with sprinkles or even dipped in chocolate .
These are so tasty! I was looking for a way to use up some butter on the counter. My arms did get quite the work-out but so worth it after eating a few too many of these! Warmer hands did make the cookies pipe a little easier.
Once again…it’s a hit.
Making these for the first time, and I look like a pro thanks to your videos and tips.
This year I’m doing 12 days of baking to give away (I’ve currently lost 90 lbs but I didn’t lose my love of baking!)
Very nice
I beat the butter and sugar for at least 8-10 minutes before adding egg and vanilla, then gradually flour. Used the largest tip I have for my pastry bag. They piped like a dream. Beautiful tall ridges. Thank you for this recipe!! Can’t wait to dip halfway in chocolate then sugar sprinkles after they’re baked!
These were great but the dough was too thick to pipe with a 1M. Any suggestions to thin it out a little?
milk
THANK YOU.
In Denmark we call these cookies Vaniljekranse. The danish recipe for vaniljekranse uses the same ingredients although we also add almond flour or finely chopped almonds, whole vanilla pods and never sprinkle sugar on top of the cookies ;-) but incorporate it in the dough. The dough can be tough to pipe, so in Denmark we often use a meatgrinder with a star attachment.
https://www.dk-kogebogen.dk/opskrifter/182/vaniljekranse-ca-150-stk
Hi!! I’m definitely going to try these out! Would love to try Ginger bread cookies for Christmas 🎄.
Sorry Michelle got it
Hi how many eggs to be added…it isn’t mentioned below the Ingredients…
It states 1 egg
It was perfect. I’m so happy I’ve found this recipe now. Thank you so so so so much. I absolutely love it.
Yummy taste ! I gained arm muscles from pipping it 😂 it was almost impossible to pipe so I had to add a little bit of warm milk…what did I do wrong?🤔 butter was definitely at room temperature
Made these with the kids! Perfect buttery biscuit. Thanks!
If I don’t have the correct piping tip is it okay to use a different one, such as the Wilton 6B?
Great flavor and a pretty easy recipe until
You get to the piping. I struggled like many others. I ended up using my cookie scoop then sprinkled them with sugar. Sending them to my dad for Father’s Day. I will try again but really would love to be able to pipe them. I eat with my eyes first and the pipes ones look so pretty!
Hey there! This dough was too soft for my cookie cutters or cookie press (I didn’t want to change the texture of the dough) so I rolled them into balls and pressed them with a fork – they were DELICIOUS!!! Buttery and perfect! Thanks for the recipe, I will be using it again!
If you have any tips on making the dough stiffer for a cookie cutter or cookie press, please let me know!
RODBAKES and SERENA
1. Use a butter with a high fat content. It really does make that ridge.
2. I find when I want to make rudges, accents, etc I back off the dough that I insert, just a smile.
3. If it keeps happening put dough in fridge for about 30 min. then pipe it (and fast…pipe and bake)
Good luck.
I was so excited to get this recipe. My son (and I) loved the blue can stuff. He was allergic to most but did not have a noticeable problem so these were our favorite. He is now 26 as of a week ago and I’m going to surprise him with these this Christmas season. Now I have to find his wife’s favorite. Thank you.
P.S. You know that “26 yrs” means no big thing….he’ll always be my little boy.
i made twice n i dunno why the swirl disappeared as the cookies bake in the oven. it got flatten ish n almost flat. it was pretty n the swirl were high as ur picture.
Same here! It flattens out
After you pipe cookies, refrigerate them or pop the tray in the freezer until the cookies are firm (not frozen.) This goes for cut out cookies, too. It helps the cookies hold their shape rather than spread out.
My first tray spread, so I refrigerated the second one. That didn’t help, as the ridges were gone as well. Did I perhaps let my butter get too soft? Or beat it too long with the sugar?
Thank goodness, mine look like pan cakes, I tried making them smaller as the 2inch ones spread so much they were one.
Baked cookies for the first time with my 10 yr old daughter and they have come out perfect .. Thank you for the simple recipe.
Thank you for the yummiest danish butter cookies recipe. The right texture and the balance sweet. My kids loved it ❤️
This was absolutely divine! The recipe is spot on as I remember Danish bitter cookies to taste. I am adding this to my favorites. Thanks you!
The cookies looked perfect, but they tasted like flour. Did I do something wrong? I followed the recipe exactly, but I might have messed up.
Hmmm mine tasted mostly like butter!
Hi. I tried your recipe and I love it! I used French butter and I love how the simplicity of the recipe brings out the butteriness and the vanilla flavour.
This dough was so thick i could NOT get it through my tip! Had to use the cookie press, which Worked but i really was looking for the swirl. Good cookie but fighting with the dough was not enjoyable
Very good and close to the original, but missing the dehydrated coconut that gives it the signature flavor!
Can’t monk sugar and either almond or coconut flour be used to make them Keto friendly?
Hi Rita, I am not familiar with either of those ingredients, so I could not say for sure.
I made these twice and it was much easier to pipe using European butter because of the higher fat content I got a softer dough.
My god, Those are my favorite. Try it, so cool.
Thanks Michelle
I had a cookie press and used a small star tip. The cookies definitely didn’t turn out pretty but are delicious. Maybe I need to invest in the Ateco star tip?
I love the Danish cookies. My turn to bring the cookies to church (with several dutch families) is coming up, can’t wait to make these! Have you ever tried to adjust recipe to fit low carb diet? (Sugar & flour substitutes) erythritol & almond or coconut flour would be my choices.
Sincerely
Tina
After reading comments on thickness. Wondering if rolled and stamped if they would hold the stamp after it’s baked.
I’m literally sitting here eating Blue Tin Danish Cookies looking for a recipe for danish cookies. Now that I’ve found this recipe I’m absolutely going to try it. Especially if they do taste just like the ones I’m currently stuffing my face with. These are my favorite cookies ever! Thank you for this recipe!
Same here Lynnette! I am munching on my order of blue tin cookies that just arrived today from Amazon, and regretting I did not order more. I’m going to save a couple to later compare side-by-side after making this recipe. Ha! Who am I kidding… I won’t be saving any cookies for a taste test ;-)
Also, I found through your website another recipe I want to try out soon — the Butternut Squash Ravioli & Brown Butter Sauce sounds absolutely delicious!
Tastes pretty good BUT impossible to pipe. Had to scoop out of my bag..
Delicious as described. This recipe has the temperament of pie crust, though, so there’s a balancing act between the amount of flour used and temperature of the dough. For what it’s worth I used 8.5oz AP flour, which gets me 2 cups based on the way I measure. The dough was insanely hard to pipe so I let it rest to in the pastry bag before piping. Then popped the sheet pans in the freezer for 15 minutes before baking and that helped the cookies keep their shape in the oven. Definitely will make again.
These are amazing I was reading some of the comments my dough was not too stiff at all maybe you need to let your butter sit out longer. I’m a baker don’t know what you all are doing wrong but these are so good. Thanks for sharing I’m adding it to my list of keepers.
The best butter cookies I’ve eaten . I did increase the sugar a little, I also put them in the fridge to set a bit they came out really good. Thank you and Merry Christmas!!!
Had to try recipe and my cookies turned out great thank you for sharing :)
I just tried making these. There is no way in the world that this batter can be piped, unless you have hands like a lumberjack. I had to get the mess of a batter out of the piping bag and into my cookie press. After all that aggravation and double the mess, they turned out to be a basic spritz cookie. If you have a favorite spritz cookie recipe, use that and your cookie press. Save yourself a huge mess and DO NOT attempt to use a piping bag. This recipe was a huge waste of time. I fell for the name. Shame on me.
Agreed. I should have reviewed comments prior to making these. They can not be piped as stated by Claudia.
Impossible to get these out of a piping bag. The dough was way too thick, and I am pretty strong. It was a soft enough dough I could roll them in a ball and flatten them, but they were not as pretty. Taste is okay. I have the original cookies open to compare. Definitely a fair substitute but not as good.
I just came across my mother‘s recipe for Danish Royalties.
She used 2 egg yolks hardboiled and mashed I have never baked anything using precooked yolks of eggs. I remember using a cookie press.
Has anyone made cookies using hardboiled egg yolk?
Danish Royalties
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 egg yolks hard cooked and mashed
1 tsp Almond extract
1 cup all purpose flour
Bake at 375 8-10 minutes on ungreased cookie sheet
Don’t know if you ever made this recipe but it looks to me like a classic sable Breton dough which is usually very good. I’ve made doughs with boiled egg yolks in culinary school and they were melt in your mouth delicious!
So light and airy! The buttery taste is delicious and they look so cute with Christmas sprinkles! I’ll be making these for our families for the holidays :) Thank you!🎄
Oh MY! These are beyond Amazing!! I even put the rest of the dough into a quart size baggie and rolled the dough to the bottom of the bag and put in the fridge for 4 days and it hardened into a log and I cut half inch slices that cooked up Beautiful in round slices! Easy!! BUTTERY!! I even added a hershey kiss on top of my batch!! Thank you for this recipe!! Its going to be a Tradition to make these now every chance I get!! Looks absolutely lovely in a festive Tin!!!
These are fabulous Michelle, and so pretty! Also, if you like a buttery cookie with chocolate, try Alison Roman’s salted chocolate chunk shortbread cookies! They are delicious with or without (my preference) salt on top!
If you make these by piping them, I recommend massaging the dough in the piping bag with your hands for a few minutes, and sort of flattening the dough in the bag. It’ll warm up the dough and make it much easier to squeeze out of the piping bag. Another thing is you can make them pretty much any shape you want. These came out good! Will be making them again.
Super simple recipe for the perfect butter cookie.
I’ve added sprinkles before cooking, red hots, as well as maraschino cherries chopped and rolled in sugar topped before baking for fun looks for the kids.
Simple cookie is still my favorite
Should I cool the cookies on the baking sheet they were cooked on or transfer them onto a cooling rack?
Hi Lauren, They can cool completely on the baking sheet. Enjoy!
Just finished making these. I didn’t have a piping bag so I just rolled they out into little balls and flattened them, worked great. I think these taste better than the ones in the tin.
Could I possibly substitute the Vanilla with Almond Extract??? Or would it taste off
I personally don’t care for the flavor of almond extract in cookies, but I know many people do! I would start with doing a mix of the two and see what you think and then adjust from there. Enjoy!
The cookies were not buttery and sweet enough. Also they were very hard to pipe, I had to add 4 tsps of milk.
Thanks for sharing. Please can I substitute margarine for butter in the recipe?
The thing about butter cookies as well as shortbread is the butter is what makes them good. Margarine doesn’t have enough of the correct fat to to achieve the results you want. Margarine also has water in it. In other words, they are called “butter” cookies for a reason.
Use real butter for butter cookies. Also, margarine is horrible for you. I would not use it in anything. I do not even consider it real “food”.
Taste delicious but my batter wasn’t thick. I should have measured my flour on a scale. I did the spoon and level after sifting flour. Cookies didn’t hold the shape. I will make again
I weighed my flour and it was not enough. I will add a tablespoon or two more next time.
I made these and they were delicious but instead of vanilla l used a local spice called Uziza. Its like peppercorns…
I made these, they were delish but I’ve gotta say you must be superwoman to squeeze these out of a piping bag. There was no way that was gonna happen so I used a tsp and flattened them a bit.
How about those little bakery cookies with the sprinkles and some have a little chocolate in between
Have tried to make them but a killer to put through a pastry bag and did not taste good. I need a new recipe
Thank you,
So glad everything worked ouat the hospital
Can I substitute the half a cup of granulated sugar for confectioner sugar?
This recipe rocks! Thank you for sharing! Point
These look amazing! Can’t wait to try making them!
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butter cookie
Michelle, do you spoon and level the flour when you make these or dip and sweep? Can’t wait to try them!
Michelle, do you dip and sweep the flour for these or spoon and level? Can’t wait to try them!
Why my cookies take almost 1 hour to cook well.please help me. Thanks
I absolutely LOVE all of your recipes!! Every recipe that I try comes out perfect!!! You are definitely my “go-to” recipe site. Please continue posting all of your wonderful recipes!!!
I made these today and I was having problem getting the dough out of the pastry bag . I used Wilson 1m. Did I make the dough to stiff some how.? Puushing it out I broke the plastic pastry bag twice. I want to try this again.. any suggestions.
I made these following your directions exactly, but the dough was so difficult to pipe because it was too firm. I had to take it out of my piping bag and add some cream to thin it so that I could pipe it at all. Have you experienced that? Thanks!
I had that same problem… Mine also didn’t come out pretty, little circles…. tasted delicious though!!!
Made these tonight, while delicious, the dough was so stiff it did not like until I let the bag sit in the preheating oven for 10 minutes.
Did not get 36 cookies and mine were crackled at the edges, it seems like there is too much flour in this recipe.
I’ll keep trying, they are pretty and delicious!
I made the Danish butter cookies and they tasted amazing. I followed the recipe exactly even drew a 2” circle on parchment paper and piped the dough. However they didn’t puff up and there was a large center hole. What did I do wrong. My husband loved them but I was a little disappointed with how they looked. Thank you for your help in advance.
Thank you for sharing the recipe with us, but your recipe results in this ratio for a serving (34g):
14.3 g flour, 13.7 g butter, and 6 g sugar, not counting the egg. The nutrition facts on the tin can suggest this ratio: 13 g flour, 11 g butter, 10 g sugar. While your flour to butter ratio is about the same, your sugar is on the low side.
I made these today. They are delicious, tender, and easy to make. Thank you for another keeper. Your recipes are always dependable and easy to follow.
Danish butter cookies are such a favorite! Excited to try these🙂
Something I’ve noticed just in the past few posts is that the text for the ingredients is lacking spaces between the words…I don’t know if it’s just me or if this shows up in the same way for other readers.
I was wondering about the lack of space as well…
No offense, but…. Same here! There is no space in between some of the words on the ingredient list! Though of course, these are such beautiful cookies!
What a wonderful recipe!! I made these delicious cookies yesterday & followed your instructions to the letter. Rave reviews from my family. Thank you!!!
Wondering…could you put a candied cherry in the center of these before baking? Either way, adding to my list for this year’s cookie tins. Do you think they’d ship okay? I generally ship a few tins of mixed cookies – wouldn’t mind adding these.
Of course you can put in half of a candied cherry. I use gummy bears cut in half, or 1/3″ slices of gummy worm. Then, if cookies get too soft during storage, they can be heated for about 5 sec. per cookie in microwave.
I made these today and they taste just like the Danish Butter Cookies in the blue can. Loved them.
I absolutely love Danish butter cookies and am excited to make my own!
These look amazing. I love butter cookies. Do you think you could do these as bars? If so, how long for bake time? Thank you for the recipe.
I’m not sure about bars, as I didn’t try it that way. If you experiment, let us know how they turn out!
Do you think this recipe could be used with a cookie press?
I wonder too!
Hi Jan, Yes, you can! :)
Hi Christine, Yes, definitely! I just updated the notes to reflect that :)
Perfect! Thank you! I get tired of fooling with the cookie press sometimes when it doesn’t cooperate so piping would give me a frustration free way of finishing off the dough!
I made round balls and pressed with a glass with sugar on it…they were soo good. thanks for recipe
You’re welcome, Katie! Love that you already made a batch, and thank you for the tip on making the dough into balls and using a sugared glass. So many options!
Any chance you’ve experimented with Gluten free flours with this recipe? These are my favorite cookies, and I haven’t been able to eat them since being diagnosed with Celiac’s 2 years ago. You’ve given me hope.
Ooooooh….who doesn’t love a good butter cookie. I may be finally get a piping bag lol..I’ve never used one. We have such similar likes in foods…and animals 😊 thanks for your lovely blog..
Thank you so much for the recipe! These are beautiful and I can’t wait to try them.
These cookies look perfect!