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 a standby 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), We 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 our grandma’s during the holidays, and we had totally forgotten about it until she mentioned it.
We immediately put it on our list and started testing some recipes not long after. We were positively elated when we landed on the reliable combination of butter, sugar, egg, and flour that produced a cookie that tastes exactly like those popular Danish butter cookies!
How to Make Danish Butter Cookies
This is A straightforward 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 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 memorable swirl look, the dough MUST be piped. You will need to use a large open-star piping tip (our 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 we put the cookies into the oven, we give them a little extra sprinkle of sugar for a bit of crunch that we 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 speedy recap of all the important tidbits to making a standby Danish butter cookies in your own kitchen!
- Use good-quality butter (our 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.
- Our 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.
We LOVE receiving recipe requests from readers because they often spark a forgotten memory and allow us to recreate something that we otherwise may never have attempted.
We 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!
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One year ago: 2017 Holiday Gift Guide: Cookbooks
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Five years ago: Panettone (Italian Christmas Bread)
Six years ago: Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
Danish Butter Cookies
Yield: 36 cookies These Danish Butter Cookies taste just like the ones in the iconic Royal Dansk blue tin; this simple recipe makes a standby piped butter cookies!- 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
- 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 (our 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.
- Our 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.
[photos by Ari of Well Seasoned]
- Yield: 36 cookies
- Prep: 30 minutes
- Cook: 15 minutes
- Total: 45 minutes
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
Method
- 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 (our 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.
Our 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.
[photos by Ari of Well Seasoned ]
