Danish Butter Cookies Recipe

Danish Butter cookies, half covered with chocolate and sprinkles on a table.

5 from 8 votes

These homemade Danish Butter Cookies are traditional Christmas Cookies. Crispy outside and soft inside, they are dipped in chocolate and decorated with sprinkles for a classic festive look.

Prep Time20

Cook Time15

Total Time55

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: cookies

Calories: 148kcal

Author: Veronika's Kitchen

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
⅔ cup granulated sugar
1 large egg room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons milk
3 oz semi-sweet or milk chocolate
3 tablespoons sprinkles

Instructions

Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or hand mixer, cream together 1 cup butter and ⅔ cup granulated sugar for a few minutes. The mixture should be light and airy.
Add 1 egg and 1 tsp vanilla extract. Mix it again until well combined.
Add 2 cups all-purpose flour and ¼ tsp salt and mix on low speed until just combined.
Add 2 teaspoons milk and mix. The dough should be a pipeable consistency but not runny. You can add more milk if needed, but try to use as little milk as possible.
Transfer the dough to a piping bag with a large piping tip.
Pipe 2-inch swirls on a baking sheet (don’t use parchment paper!), 3 inches apart.
Place the baking sheet with piped cookies in the fridge for 15-20 minutes. This extra step will help them keep their shape while baking.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Bake the cookies for about 15 minutes or until they are golden brown on the sides.
When done, remove from the oven and let them sit on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool off completely.
While they are cooling off, we can prepare the chocolate. You can melt it on a double boiler or in a microwave. Put the chopped chocolate in a medium heat-proof bowl and microwave in 20 seconds increments, stirring after each increment.
Dip ⅔ of the cookies into melted chocolate and place on a parchment paper. Decorate with sprinkles and let them dry off completely.

Video

Notes

I prefer to use a wide piping tip, like Ateco 849 or Ateco 826. This way it will be easier to pipe thinker dough. Also, the thinker the dough, the better it will keep the shape while baking.
If you don’t have a large piping nose, you can you a classic Wilton 1M. Although you will need to add more milk to the dough to thin it out. This is not the best option, as the cookies will spread more while baking.
It’s easier to pipe out the dough directly on the baking sheet and not parchment paper, because it will stick better.
If your dough is too thick and doesn’t pipe well, squeeze it back to the bowl and add 1-2 teaspoons of milk and mix. Then scoop it back to a piping bag and try to pipe out again.
Always refrigerate the piped cookies before baking, which helps them keep their shape and prevent spreading.

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