Classic holiday butter cookies made with buttery cookie dough and covered in chocolate & sprinkles. Incredible shortbread cookie with a delicate texture and fantastic flavor!
You’re going to love this Christmas butter cookies recipe. It’s packed with flavor and super easy to make. Dipping the cookies in chocolate adds a lot of flavor, and the red and green sprinkles make them perfect for the holidays!
WHAT ARE BUTTER COOKIES?
Butter cookies are a fun combination of sugar cookies and shortbread cookies but instead of chilling the dough before rolling or shaping the dough, we use a piping bag and a fitted tip to shape the cookies before chilling. This gives us fun shapes that look almost too good to eat. Our Christmas butter cookies with sprinkles are a fun holiday variation that you’re going to enjoy!
Ingredients in Holiday Butter Cookies
Butter: You will need 1 cup (2 sticks) of butter. Make sure to soften the butter to room temperature before adding to the recipe. For best results, use real butter.
Powdered sugar: Using powdered sugar adds sweetness, while keeping the texture of the cookies smooth.
Egg yolks: Use 2 large egg yolks that are at room temperature.
Vanilla extract: The higher the quality of the vanilla, the better.
Flour: All-purpose flour works best in butter cookies. You will need 2 cups of flour, plus an additional 3 tablespoons.
Salt: Just a little bit of salt can help all of the other flavors to pop.
Milk: Just a little bit of milk will help to thin out the dough to a consistency that you can pipe onto the cookie sheets.
Chocolate Coating:
Semi-sweet chocolate: You can use any type of chocolate you’d like. You can use chocolate chips or almond bark. White chocolate or dark chocolate are both delicious as well!
Coconut oil: Just a little bit of coconut oil helps to thin out the chocolate a little bit.
Sprinkles: Use any color you’d like to make the butter cookies festive for any holiday or special occasion.
How to make Holiday Butter Cookies
Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
MAKE THE COOKIE DOUGH
In a medium bowl, cream the butter and sugar together with a hand mixer on medium speed. Mix until light in color and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.
Add the egg yolks and vanilla, and mix for another 2-3 minutes.
Add the flour, salt and milk. Mix until the dough is just combined, then finish mixing with a rubber spatula.
PIPE THE COOKIES
Pipe the cookies onto the prepared baking sheet. I used the 1M Wilton tip. If you use a big open tip, the cookies will spread more.
Place the cookies about 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Once you are done piping, place them in the refrigerator to chill for about 45 minutes.
BAKE THE COOKIES
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F.
Bake the chilled cookies for 15 –17 minutes or until lightly browned on the sides. They should not spread much, especially if you chilled adequately.
Once finished baking, let them cool for about 15 minutes and then transfer to the cookies to a cooling rack.
DIP THE COOKIES IN CHOCOLATE
Melt your chocolate in the microwave in 20-second intervals, stirring in between each interval, until it is completely melted and smooth. Add in the coconut oil and mix until melted.
Dip the cooled cookies in the chocolate (you’ll want to coat about half of the cookies) and top with your favorite Christmas sprinkles. Place on some cooling racks or baking trays lined with parchment paper and then place the cookies in the refrigerator until the chocolate sets.
HOW DO YOU SOFTEN BUTTER?
I like to soften butter by using the defrost function on my microwave. If you need the full 1/2 cup cube of butter, you can leave it in the paper wrapper, otherwise, place the amount of butter you need in a glass or porcelain bowl. I use the lowest defrost setting on my microwave and just let it run for 20 seconds. Check the butter and see how soft it is by pressing it with a rubber scraper. If it is still not soft to the touch, meaning it doesn’t indent when you press into it, let it warm for another 5-10 seconds. Watch it closely! Butter softens very quickly.
HOW LONG ARE HOLIDAY BUTTER COOKIES GOOD FOR?
These cookies can last up to a week if stored in an airtight container in the fridge but they can be held in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.
CAN BUTTER COOKIES BE FROZEN?
These cookies can be frozen in an airtight container or zip-top bag for up to 3 months. Simply allow the cookies to thaw before eating. I do not recommend freezing the cookies once dipped to prevent the chocolate from sweating as it thaws. Once the cookies thaw, you can dip them as instructed.
CHECK OUT THESE OTHER GREAT HOLIDAY COOKIE RECIPES
- STACKED CHRISTMAS TREE COOKIES
- HOLIDAY SPICED SNICKERDOODLES
- CHRISTMAS CUT OUT COOKIES
- HOLIDAY STAR COOKIES
- SPICED CHRISTMAS SHORTBREAD COOKIES
- CHRISTMAS SUGAR COOKIE BARS
- CHRISTMAS SUGAR COOKIE RECIPE
- MINT CHRISTMAS COOKIES
- MINI SUGAR COOKIE BITES
- CHRISTMAS BROWNIE COOKIES
- NO BAKE GINGERBREAD COOKIES
Classic holiday butter cookies made with buttery cookie dough and covered in chocolate & sprinkles. Incredible shortbread cookie with a delicate texture and fantastic flavor!
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