Danish Butter Cookies

Before you start

Danish butter cookies are the crisp, ridged rings, pretzels and rosettes known from the round blue tins. The flavor is almost all butter and vanilla, and the texture is lighter and snappier than shortbread because the dough is soft enough to pipe through a large star tip. A single egg loosens it and helps the cookies hold their shape, while powdered sugar keeps the crumb fine.

Unlike spritz cookies, which are forced through a cookie press, these are piped by hand, so the dough must be soft at room temperature. The trade-off is that warm, piped dough melts in the oven and the ridges blur. Pipe onto parchment, chill the tray for 15 minutes, then bake straight from the refrigerator. Bake until the edges turn golden; pale cookies taste raw and soften within a day.

Ingredients

• 225 g (1 cup) unsalted butter — softened to about 20°C; it should be spreadable
• 100 g (¾ cup + 1 tbsp) powdered sugar
• ¼ tsp fine salt
• 1 large egg — room temperature
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 270 g (2¼ cups, spooned and leveled) all-purpose flour
• 1 to 2 tbsp whole milk — only if needed to loosen the dough
• 2 tbsp coarse sanding sugar — for topping, optional

Method

1. Beat the butter, powdered sugar and salt on medium speed for 3 minutes, until pale and very smooth. Scrape the bowl, then beat in the egg and vanilla until fully combined.
2. Add the flour on low speed and mix only until no dry streaks remain. Squeeze a little dough between your fingers: it should be soft enough to pipe. If it feels stiff, beat in milk 1 tablespoon at a time.
3. Line the baking sheets with parchment. Fill the piping bag fitted with the star tip no more than half full so it is easier to squeeze.
4. Hold the bag upright about 1 cm above the parchment and pipe 5 cm (2 in) rings, overlapping the end of each ring slightly over its start. Space them 3 cm apart. Pipe rosettes, S shapes or pretzels with any remaining dough.
5. Sprinkle with sanding sugar if using. Refrigerate each tray for 15 minutes, until the cookies feel firm. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 175°C (350°F).
6. Bake one tray at a time for 12 to 14 minutes, until the edges and ridges are golden and the bottoms are evenly browned.
7. Cool on the tray for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack. The cookies crisp fully as they cool.

Tips for success

• Piping takes firm, steady pressure. If your hands warm the bag and the dough starts to slump, swap to a fresh half bag and refrigerate the first for a few minutes.
• A sturdy reusable bag survives this dough better than a thin disposable one, which can split at the tip.
• Pipe a test cookie and bake it. If it loses its ridges, chill longer; if it cracks while piping, add a little milk.

Substitutions

Whole egg

Use 2 egg whites for an even crisper, paler cookie, or 2 yolks for a richer, more tender one. Both pipe well.

Vanilla extract

Add ½ tsp almond extract or the seeds of half a vanilla bean. Some tins include a lemon zest version; 1 tsp zest works too.

Unsalted butter

High-fat European-style butter gives the best flavor. Plant-based sticks can work but spread more, so chill the piped cookies for 30 minutes.

Variations

Chocolate-dipped rings

Dip half of each cooled ring in melted dark chocolate and set on parchment until firm.

Jam rosettes

Pipe rosettes and press a small dot of thick raspberry jam into the center before chilling.

Troubleshooting

The dough is too stiff to squeeze through the tip

The butter was too cold or the flour was overmeasured. Let the dough warm a little, add milk a spoonful at a time, and weigh the flour.

Cookies spread and lost their pattern

The piped dough was warm. Chill the tray before baking, and do not put dough on a hot tray from the previous batch.

Cookies are soft the next day

They were underbaked or stored before cooling fully. Bake until the edges are clearly golden and store them only once completely cold.

Storage

Keep the cookies in an airtight tin at room temperature for up to 2 weeks. If they soften, recrisp them at 150°C (300°F) for 5 minutes and cool. Piped, unbaked cookies can be frozen on the tray, then bagged for up to 2 months; bake from frozen with an extra 1 to 2 minutes.

Safety notes

Do not taste the raw dough; it contains raw egg and raw flour. Contains wheat, egg and milk.