Crispy on the outside and tender in the center, decorated with colorful sprinkles, these butter cookies are always a hit! You’ll love this classic cookie recipe that’s quick and easy to make.
Why I Love This Butter Cookie Recipe
- Perfect texture: With crisp edges and tender centers, these butter cookies will melt in your mouth like, well, butter.
- Bite size: Each cookie only needs one or two bites to eat, making them an ideal afternoon treat.
- EASY to make: Instead of piping the cookies, you just roll the dough into a log and slice it. Easy peasy!
- Flexible: Butter cookies can be decorated for literally any time of the year! Break out your red and green sprinkles for Christmas, use pink ones on Valentine’s Day, or coat the edges in coarse sugar for a simple and elegant treat.
Looking for more classic cookie recipes? Try my Danish Butter Cookies, Peanut Butter Blossoms, and Linzer Cookies.
What You’ll Need
You’ll only need 8 ingredients to make these butter cookies – how’s that for a short shopping list? Or, and this is likely, maybe you’ve already got everything sitting in the pantry. Here’s a quick look at what you’ll need. Be sure to scroll down to the recipe card for a printable list.
- Butter: Salted or unsalted. Let the butter come to room temperature before starting.
- Sugar: I just use regular granulated sugar for these cookies.
- Egg Yolk: To bind the cookie dough together.
- Vanilla Extract: For flavor.
- Kosher Salt: Regular salt will also work, I just like using kosher salt for desserts.
- Baking Powder: To give the cookies a little lift.
- All Purpose Flour: Add the flour in small portions so that it doesn’t end up all over the counter.
- Decorations: You can use coarse sugar or sprinkles for rolling the dough.
How to Make Butter Cookies
Making butter cookies is a pretty simple process. It really comes down to mixing the dough together, rolling it into a log, slicing, and baking. Here’s a quick look at how to do it:
- Make the dough: Mix the butter and granulated sugar for 2 minutes, then add in the egg yolk, vanilla, salt, and baking powder until smooth. Turn the mixer to low and add in the flour.
- Form a log. Divide the dough in half and roll each half into a log. Roll in coarse sugar.
- Chill. Wrap the dough logs in plastic and refrigerate for up at least an hour.
- Bake. Slice each log into 1/4-inch rounds. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until the edges are golden brown. Cool for 3 minutes on a baking sheet then transfer to a wire rack.
Helpful Tips
- Don’t Over Bake: Take the cookies out of the oven when the edges are golden brown, even if you think the centers could use a little more time. They’ll finish baking on the warm pan and solidify as the cool.
- Carefully Measure Your Flour: Adding too much will mess with the texture of your cookie. The most accurate way to measure your flour is with a scale.
- Use Pure Vanilla: I’ve found that pure vanilla extract tastes the best here – rather than an artificial version – because its sweet, rich flavor really shines.
- Want to add chocolate? If you’re not a big fan of sprinkles, bake the cookies without them and dip them in melted chocolate after they’ve cooled. They’re just as delicious this way!
How to Store Butter Cookies
- Room temperature. Store these cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 7 days – but I doubt you’ll need that long!
- Freezer. Freeze butter cookies in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge or on the counter.
More Cookie Recipes
Butter Cookies
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes + chill time
- Yield: 40 cookies 1x
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Dessert
Description
Crispy on the outside and tender in the center, decorated with colorful sprinkles, this Butter Cookies recipe is always a hit! A simple, classic cookie recipe that’s quick and easy to make.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 cup butter, room temperature
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup coarse sugar or sprinkles for rolling
Instructions
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment mix the butter and granulated sugar together for 2 minutes. Add in the egg yolk, vanilla, salt, and baking powder, and mix until combined and smooth, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl as necessary.
- Turn the mixer to low and add in the flour until just incorporated. Divide the dough in half and roll each half into a 1 1/2- inch thick log. Sprinkle the coarse sugar onto a clean counter and roll each log into the sugar, coating evenly.
- Wrap each log in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to 2 days.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 325°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Remove the cookie dough from the refrigerator, unwrap, and slice each log into 1/4- inch rounds. Place cookies onto the prepared baking sheet 1- inch apart. Bake for 15 – 18 minutes, until the edges are golden brown. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 3 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Store airtight at room temperature for up to 7 days.
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Amazing cookies & Mmm the butter melts in your mouth. Easy to make.
Don’t change the recipe, it’s perfect. Thanks for sharing this winning recipe.
Thank you so much!!
Here’s a photo of my cookies….I wasn’t able to upload earlier with my comment. They’re not as pretty as Shelley’s but they are really good!!!
Love this!! thank you so much for posting your picture!
EASY AND TASTY!!! I have a family recipe for very good butter cookies that require rolling the dough (I don’t have a cookie press). I didn’t feel like rolling dough, so I happened upon this recipe. And glad I did! I doubled the batch and rolled 4 logs. Each log had a different surgery color. Red, green, chocolate gimmies, and red and green sprinkles mixed. I froze the logs for 2 hours….that’s when I was available to bake them. I took one log out of freezer at a time. I cut log into 1/4 inch slices and placed on parchment paper on baking tray. Baked at 325 for 15 to 18 mins. Initially, I baked them a little too long so some are darker than others. But still very tasty. As you can see by the photo, the cookies are quite small…..bite size. I expected them to spread more but they don’t spread. I’m ok with the small size. It feels like you’re not eating as much! My family enjoyed them and I will definitely keep this recipe in my rotation. Thank you for sharing Shelly. Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Amazing! This recipe reminds me of a long-lost recipe that my mom used to bake around Christmas. The only difference is that her recipe had crushed walnuts in it. Any suggestions if I wanted to add the walnuts? Substitute ½ cup of flour for ½ cup crushed walnuts? Thanks!
I made these cookies last week – and my husband and I ate most of them. I took the rest to our daughter’s house yesterday and our granddaughter declared them “the best cookies ever.” She’s only 3, but she knows a good cookie when she tastes one! I just made two more batches, which I will bake for Christmas and try to resist. This recipe is a keeper. Thank you!
These are so easy to make and so delicious. I had trouble getting the sprinkles to stick so after I rolled the dough into a log, I brushed it with egg white. Thanks for a great recipe.
Hi Shelly, can I use Turbinado cane sugar for rolling?
sure!
Thank you! I know your recipe stated coarse sugar so I wasn’t sure if Turbinado cane sugar was the same.
I do not have stand mixer and so of course, no paddle. Can I use my hand mixer? So many of your recipes call for a stand mixer with a paddle
Yes you can! I test all my recipes with a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, which is what I recommend, but you can certainly use a hand mixer!
Hi Shelly
Can we add chocolate sprinkles to the edge, prior to cutting/baking? Or should we only use sugar sprinkles?
I’m loving your daily cookie recipes. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for this great recipe! I really want to make these! How long is each roll supposed to be? It says 1 1/2 inches! Thanks!
The log should be 1 1/2 inches in diameter!