These crispy butter cookies taste better than store-bought ones and are so easy to make. They are just 3 ingredients and don’t require any eggs. The cookies come out very crispy, buttery and sweet. They are perfect for gifting.
I love eating butter cookies, especially this time of year and I can never resist buying a few tins of Danish butter cookies. But most of the time I’m actually disappointed with the ones I buy. These homemade butter cookies taste so much better. They are so crispy, buttery and have just the right amount of sweetness.
Ingredients
- Butter
- Powdered Sugar
- Flour
Butter: I used unsalted butter but you can use salted if you want a little salt in your cookies. The butter needs to be softened before using, otherwise your cookie dough will not be the right consistency.
Powdered sugar: Powered sugar is used to help create the crispy cookie texture and to provide sweetness.
Flour: These cookies use all purpose flour. I have not tried making them with gluten-free flour.
You can also add 1 tsp of vanilla extract for more fragrant cookies, but it’s optional.
How to Make Danish Butter Cookies
The butter and powdered sugar are creamed together at high speed for a few minutes until you have a light, fluffy mixture that is white in color and resembles whipped cream. The flour is then mixed in until a dough forms.
The dough is soft enough that it can be piped. I used an open star tip to pipe swirls that resemble my favorite Danish butter cookie shape (I made mine spiral swirls If you want it to look more like the ones in the tins, just pipe a circle).
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3 Ingredient Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (227 g) butter softened and slightly melted (see notes)
- 1 cup (118 g) powdered sugar
- 2 cups (256 g) all purpose flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line 2 large baking sheets with silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, add butter and sugar. Cream at highest speed for about 5 minutes or until light and fluffy. The mixture should turn from yellow to white and look like whipped cream when you are done. If you are using a stand mixer, make sure to stop and scrape the sides of your bowl a few times with a spatula so that all the butter gets creamed. I used the wire whisk attachment with the stand mixer.
- Add in the flour. Mix in at low speed and then gradually increase speed once flour is incorporated. The mixture will be crumbly at first but then should form a thick, soft dough, almost like a thick paste. You can stop mixing once the dough comes together.
- Add dough to a piping bag. Using a large open star tip (I used one with a 1/2 inch opening), pipe swirls or whatever design you prefer. Space cookies 1 inch apart. See notes for other options if you don't wish to pipe the cookies. Place piped cookies into fridge for 30 minutes so the dough is chilled. This will prevent the cookies from spreading too much when they bake.
- Place one cookie sheet into the middle of your oven. Bake cookies for about 15-20 minutes or until edges and surface start to turn a light brown. (Mine took about 18-20 minutes). Remove cookies from oven and bake the second tray. Let cookies cool on cookie sheet before removing. Store uneaten cookies in an airtight container.
Notes
- I recommend only baking one sheet of cookies at a time. When I tried baking both, the cookies on the bottom rack did not brown on top as evenly.
- If you want to add some vanilla extract to the cookies, add 1 tsp with the flour.
- Your butter needs to be very soft and slightly melted. I recommend heating it in the microwave for a few seconds to achieve this. The sticks of butter should be very soft and mostly solid, but with about 1 tbsp of liquid butter per stick. This leads to the best consistency for the dough. I tried making this with just softened butter and while I was able to make the butter mixture very light and fluffy, I found that too much of the butter gets stuck on the sides of the bowl and not into the dough which will make the dough too thick to pipe well. If the butter is slightly melted, it also takes less time to whip the butter to the light and fluffy texture needed.
- Be careful not to add too much flour, which will cause your dough to be too stiff to pipe. To properly measure the flour, scoop the flour with a spoon into your measuring cup and then level the cup with a knife.
- The dough is thick but it should be soft enough to pipe (with some effort). If you are finding it too stiff to pipe a full spiral, then you can try mixing in 1 tbsp of melted butter into the dough and mixing it again.
- If you don't want to pipe the dough, you can break off some dough and form balls, then flatten them into discs. Make sure they are very flat, otherwise they won't be as crispy as the piped cookies. You can add some patterns with a fork or leave them plain.
- I used the Ateco 826 piping tip* (open star with a half-inch opening diameter).
- *This product link is an affiliate link. This means I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
- I piped spiral swirls. My cookies are about 1.5 times the ones you get in the tins. How many cookies you get will vary depending on how much you pipe. I also piped some circles (which look more like the shape and size as the cookies in the Danish butter cookie tins) and was able to get about 32 cookies.
Nutrition
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
Soooo good ! Thank you.
You’re welcome!
First time making these and have to say they were amazing , I got quite a few more than stated , but I think it was because I piped them smaller ,
I was really fancying a choc one and guesstimated with rich cocoa powder (( hadn’t seen recipe for them )) and they were beautiful , I will defo be making again as husband and kids loved them , thank you
We’re so glad you liked them! We’re glad it worked with cocoa powder, too.
I think these will be a new fave to make in my house can’t wait to make more 🙂
This is my third or fourth recipe for “Danish Butter Cookies.”
I liked the ease of piping; the melting of the butter helps; and you don’t need to dilute the mix with milk, like others do. I only bake by weight and live outside of the USA, so the Metric was appreciated, and SPOT on, except we don’t have ovens that do “177ºC,” so you need to bake at 175ºC.
These were super crisp, which I love.
The BIG downside was flavor. Made as directed, these cookies are broderline-tastless. They are not sweet, so they don’t even have a burst of sugar to hit you.
There is a reason that most other recipes call for eggs and vanilla (or another flavor).
I also made these with French butter, which is cultured and has less water and more fat. This added to the flavor profile. But there was still a floury aftertaste.
The resulting texture was a little crumbly, which makes these delicate for storage.
I would fix that by adding one large egg and not melting part of the butter. It will also help the flavor, and by all means add 1 tsp. of real vanilla.
*Tip place the tray of pipped cookies in the freezer for 15 mins, while preheating the oven. You will save time and energy.
I saved this batch by dipping them in some bittersweet chocolate.
I will make these again, just by adding the egg and vanilla.
Thank you for sharing your experience. Taste is subjective so what we think has the right amount of sweetness might have too much/not enough for someone else. We like creating very easy recipes with few ingredients – if we shared what you suggested it would be just like every other butter cookie recipe out there. We love to create recipes for people looking for very easy ideas – sounds like you enjoy more traditional recipes.
Thank you for sharing. Can I use granulated sugar instead powdered sugar?
This recipe works much better with powdered sugar.
Miirym loves your cookies
We’re glad to hear that!
Hello! I’ve followed the recipe in the pinterest publications and the amount of each ingredient is different than the web page :(. Why is that? Which one do I need to use?
Please use the ingredient amounts listed in the recipe card at the end of this post (before the comments section).
How many days can you make in advance and store in air tight container?
Butter cookies typically keep well in an airtight container for about a week.
Looks yummy!! I am wondering if you can use margarine instead of stick butter?
Sorry we haven’t tried
I made these with margarine and they were good. Hope this helps .
LLOOVED IT!
We’re happy you loved the cookies!
I sifted the dry ingredients. Cookies came out airy with a little crunch. Great easy recipe.
So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
It is a wonderful sweet snack with its taste and simplicity. This recipe can be made quickly and easily, as it contains only three main ingredients.
The fact that they are egg-free makes them a great option for those with egg allergies or those who do not want to consume eggs. It is also an excellent option for a quick snack or sudden dessert crises. Butter Cookies with 3 Ingredients are an ideal recipe for anyone who wants to prepare delicious snacks, even if you are not a creative chef.
We’re glad you liked it!
If I don’t have a mixer, can this recipe be achieved using a whisk?
You can try whisking it, but it will take a lot more work and time to get the butter and sugar to the right consistency.
Absolutely loved how these turned out! Crunchy sides but still chewy and so buttery and delicious. Tasted a lot like shortbread. I didn’t have an electric beater so I just used a whisk and added a splash of vanilla too! Will definitely be making these again
We’re glad it worked with a whisk!
Hi there, are there any non glutinous flours (other than oat flour) that can work for this recipe?
You might like our keto shortbread cookies – they’re not exactly the same, but they’re buttery and use almond flour.
Soo good!!
So glad you liked the recipe!
Forgot the oven is not here so I put it in a pan
Easy and not expensive
I love this recipe they came out perfect.
We’re so glad!
The dough is kinda clumpy, and there should be eggs in the recipe too.
This recipe is meant to be eggless. If the butter is soft, you should have no problem making a smooth dough. Did you use softened butter and cream it as described in the recipe?
Theses look awesomeness.
Thank you! We hope you try the recipe soon.
Mine came out too flat. I did aff
Did you pipe the dough? Also, did you chill the cookie dough before baking?
Oops! Forgot to ask. Can you sift the flour or just scoop it into a measuring cup. Thanks again.
To properly measure the flour, scoop the flour with a spoon into your measuring cup and then level the cup with a knife.
Hi there,
Could you add chopped pecans? If so, how much.
Thanks for your help.
Adding chopped nuts may make the cookies very hard to pipe. You can try adding 1/4 cup
Hi there, is the powered sugar icing sugar or castor sugar?
Icing sugar and powdered sugar are the same things. Castor sugar is different, so we don’t recommend using that for this recipe.
How hot should the oven be?
350°F – that info is listed in step one of the recipe card.
Don’t you add a raising agent like bicarbonate of soda or baking powder to your ingredients?
I do when the recipe needs it. These do not need it. Adding baking powder or baking soda would cause the cookies to spread too much and change the texture.
Would almond flour work as a substitute?
I don’t think it will work with almond flour
I just made these cookies following the exact recipe! Make sure to read the notes because I didn’t scoop my flour into the 1 cup as she stated, I added flour and tapped the cup to level out.. which I think made me “add” more flour than needed because my dough was too stiff to pipe. I ended up forming into balls and squishing them flat. I was nervous because my dough seemed dry and cracked. But they came out delicious! I couldn’t added more butter and mixed again but didn’t have the time. I also used unsalted butter!
I did use a kitchen aid mixer. And I added the vanilla in with the flour per the notes but I think maybe adding it at the end of the butter and powdered sugar mix would be better?
Can’t wait to make them again!
I’m glad they worked out for you. I hope you try again measuring the flour by scooping it into the measuring cup. This is actually the way flour should be measured for almost all baking recipes. When you scoop directly into the cup and level, you end up overpacking your flour.
Your pastry looks yummy
Thanks!
I’ve been making theses for 30 years! Found the recipe in a $1 paper back cook book from the DollarvTree. My husband said they tasted just like the “tea cakes” his grandmother use to make. They are so simple yet delicious.
We love them, too!
Love these cookies
I’m so glad you liked them!