Easy homemade butter cookies – piped cookies

One of the most impressive cookies you can make at home with just 5 ingredients, choco vanilla flavor piped just like classic Danish butter cookies. These are my go-to when I want to make a classic cookie which is two toned, great for serving or gifting.

Why you should make these cookies?

Some memories are instantly revived. With these cookies, I remember my Naani’s home (maternal grandmother), where we used to go for sleepovers on weekends.  When all the cousins got some money from her to buy goodies. We used to buy these assorted bakery cookies being freshly baked.

I still go to Karachi’s best bakeries and try to recollect the same taste but usually its a miss for whatever reasons. The other day, while kids are vacationing at home, I tried to get them involved in the whole process of choosing, baking and shooting a recipe. They make a great giveaway too!

They also are very similar to Danish butter cookies that come in that signature blue box.

Tips for making butter cookies successfully

1. These cookies are piped hence consistency is crucial that is why all measurements are in grams.
2. You might want to warm the butter a little in winters and cool the batter in fridge in summers.
3. If you do not have piping bags or tips, you can try using zip lock bag snipping off the corner.
4. When cookies come out of the oven, they are soft, do not touch or move them until they have cooled a bit.

What are the ingredients in butter cookies?

Dairy – Butter – unsalted, soft but firm, Egg – room temperature

Dry Ingredients – Flour, Corn Flour – also known as corn starch, Cocoa Powder – good quality cocoa powder, Icing Sugar – commercially prepared for that fine texture, also called confectioner’s sugar, if making powdered sugar at home, sieve/sift multiple times.

How to make old fashioned piped butter cookies?

Cream butter and sugar in a bowl with hand whisk or electric mixer. You don’t want to beat a lot not to incorporate lot of air.

Add egg, beat to mix and add flour, beat enough on slow to mix. Divide the mixture (weighing is better but you can guesstimate) and add corn flour to one and cocoa powder to other.

For clean and tidy piping, place the mixture in plastic wrap and then place in a piping bag fitted with large open star tip. Pipe vanilla first and chocolate after (for color transfer).

FAQs

Substitutions and Variations

This is a fairly simple recipe consisting of 4 basic pantry ingredients, 5 if you care doing the chocolate version as well.

You can skip the cocoa powder and add corn flour like the other part and make all vanilla.

Or you can make all chocolate by adding cocoa powder to the other part.

If you like two toned marble style cookies, my eggless marble cookies recipe can be made without piping and is super easy to make.

Serving Suggestions

These are such a versatile cookies. Can be dipped in chocolate and chopped nuts. The can be sandwiches with jam or ganache.

Either way, as is they make a great side to a nice hot tea or coffee.

Storage and Make Ahead

You can make the batter and pipe immediately, then you can refrigerate while your oven is pre-heating or you can freeze the piped cookies to bake later.

These cookies keep exceptionally well in an airtight box at room temperature.

It is such a simple recipe yet yields rewarding result. It is like a cross between short bread and the rolled out cookies. Cookies are one of my favorite things to bake as they can so versatile. If you go here, you will find 14 cookies recipe and they all are love. With this one also you can pipe in different shapes and fill them with some jam, sandwich them with buttercream or ganache and so on. It has no leavening or flavoring agents hence imparts a pure distinctive buttery flavor. I have used icing sugar also known as powdered or confectioners sugar because of the desired delicacy of the cookie and also to be able to pipe them easily without clogging the nozzle. If you don’t have piping bag, you can try piping with zip lock bags with one end snipped off. 

Recipe