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Soft Butter Cookies

Soft Butter Cookies
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These Soft Butter Cookies are delicate, tender, and melt-in-your-mouth buttery! With their beautiful piped swirl design, they look bakery-worthy but are surprisingly simple to make at home. Perfect for holidays, cookie trays, gifting, or enjoying with a cup of coffee or tea. You’ll love how soft, light, and buttery they are!

Ingredients

Scale

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, softened

  • ⅔ cup granulated sugar

  • 2 egg yolks

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or any preferred extract)

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour

  • ¼ teaspoon salt (omit if using salted butter)

  • 2 tablespoons milk (whole or 2%), plus more as needed

Optional:

  • Fruit jam or melted chocolate for dipping or sandwiching

Instructions

  • Preheat Oven
    Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
    If your kitchen is warm, plan to chill piped cookies before baking.

  • Cream Butter & Sugar
    In a large bowl, beat softened butter and sugar together until light and fluffy (about 2–3 minutes).

  • Add Yolks & Vanilla
    Mix in the egg yolks and vanilla until smooth.

  • Add Dry Ingredients
    Add flour and salt. Mix on low until the dough becomes crumbly.

  • Add Milk
    Mix in 2 tablespoons milk, adding 1 teaspoon at a time if needed.
    Dough should be thick like pipeable buttercream — soft but slightly sticky.

  • Pipe Cookies
    Transfer dough to a piping bag fitted with a large open star tip.
    Pipe rosettes: press down, swirl around, and lift slightly to release.

  • Chill (If Needed)
    Chill the piped cookies for 20–30 minutes if they feel too soft.

  • Bake
    Bake 13–15 minutes, until edges turn a light golden brown.

  • Cool
    Let cookies cool fully on the baking sheet to keep their shape.

  • Optional Finish
    Sandwich two cookies with jam or dip edges in melted chocolate.

Notes

  • Use a heavy-duty piping bag — the dough is thick!

  • If too stiff to pipe → add a tiny amount of milk at a time

  • If dough spreads → dough was too warm → chill piped shapes

  • Best extract flavors: vanilla, almond, lemon, or even coconut

Find it online: https://chocotune.com/soft-butter-cookies/