RECIPE: Easy Butter Cookies for no-fuss holiday baking
Cookies are synonymous with the holidays. When I was a little girl, my mother, sister and I would make Mexican wedding cookies, butter cookies, and, of course, gingerbread people. Later, my elfin’ magic really kicked in as kitchen director for Martha Stewart Living Television. For weeks, we baked endless trays of exquisite, delicious cookies for Martha to share with family and friends.
There’s nothing like freshly baked cookies to spread the holiday cheer. Granted, there will be less festive gatherings this Christmas season, but we’ll still leave cookies for Santa. And, how special is it to receive a tin of homemade cookies or drop off a batch for a neighbor?
One thing on my wish list this holiday season is “easy.” My Easy Butter Cookies are no-fuss holiday baking at its finest. There’s no rolling or shaping into logs, no chilling, no piping bags, no cookie presses, no extra efforts whatsoever. Just make and bake, and you’ll have warm cookies in less than 20 minutes. They are tender, buttery and crisp all at the same time.
Many recipes make dozens upon dozens of cookies. It winds up feeling like a shift at the cookie factory. This recipe makes about 40 but can be halved if you want to bake a small batch, or doubled if you want to make more.
For the best results, be sure the butter is at room temperature. When you cream room-temperature butter with sugar, the mixture becomes light and fluffy. That’s because the grains of sugar are forced through the butter, creating tiny pockets of air that give the mixture more volume. The heat of the oven, then causes those tiny air bubbles to expand and creates a cakey texture. If the butter is too cold, the sugar can’t create air bubbles. If the butter is too warm, the bubbles collapse and result in a denser cookie. Simply set the butter out on the counter for a few hours until it’s soft and pliable.
Want it to happen faster? Don’t microwave it. That technique rarely works for me and I wind up with melted butter. Chop the butter into 1/2-inch cubes and it should come to room temperature in about 15 or 20 minutes.
Easy Butter Cookies can be left plain or rolled in sprinkles, colored sugar, sesame seeds or chopped pecans.
Virginia Willis is an Atlanta-based Food Network Kitchen chef, James Beard Award-winning food writer and author of seven cookbooks. Follow her at virginiawillis.com.
- 1 cup room-temperature butter
- ¾ cup confectioner’s sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- Sugar, sprinkles, nuts or seeds, for rolling (optional)
- Nonstick spray, for flattening the cookies (optional)
- Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a non-stick silicone baking sheet. Place the butter in a bowl and stir with a wooden spoon until smooth and creamy. Add sugar, flour, extract, and salt; stir to combine.
- Using a 1-tablespoon measure or scoop, scoop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Or, scoop them into the optional roll-ins, rolling to coat, then place onto the prepared baking sheet.
- Spritz the flat bottom of a glass with nonstick spray. Press the glass on the cookies to flatten to about ¼-inch. If you don’t flatten, they will not spread and become flat, but will be puffy.
- Bake until golden brown, rotating once, about 10 minutes. Remove the baking sheet to a rack to cool slightly, then transfer cookies to a rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough. Store in an airtight container for up to one week. Makes: About 40 cookies
Nutritional information
Per serving: Per cookie (without toppings): 77 calories (percent of calories from fat, 58), 1 gram protein, 7 grams carbohydrates, trace fiber, 5 grams total fat (trace saturated fat), 12 milligrams cholesterol, 61 milligrams sodium.Read more stories like this by liking Atlanta Restaurant Scene on Facebook, following @ATLDiningNews on Twitter and @ajcdining on Instagram.
