Authentic Italian Butter Cookies

• large or medium bowl to mix the ingredients
• electric hand mixer (or stand mixer if preferred) to make the dough
• baking sheets for baking the Italian butter cookies
• parchment paper for lining the baking sheet
• wooden spoon or spatula to stir the dough at the end
• cookie cutters to cut the dough into fun shapes
• wire rack for cooling the cookies at room temperature once they are baked
• piping bag/pastry bag (optional) for filling cookie sandwiches

Ingredients

• All-purpose flour (300 grams) – you should use sifted flour to be sure that the texture of your butter cookies is perfect.
• Butter (200 grams) – the original recipe calls for unsalted butter that is softened at room temperature for at least one hour before using. You can substitute with salted butter if you prefer.
• Granulated sugar (150 grams) – to make your cookies sweet and delicious.
• Egg yolk (1 large) – use one fresh egg yolk that is carefully separated from the white.
• Vanilla extract (2 teaspoons) – vanilla extract brings out the sweetness and adds warmth and fragrance to the cookies.

List of possible decorations/fillings: confectioners sugar, apricot, raspberry or strawberry jam for filling cookie sandwiches, Nutella or other chocolate spread, 70% dark chocolate for melting and dipping, candied cherries, cocoa powder or sprinkles for fun!

Authentic Italian butter cookies from scratch, step-by-step

Make the cookie dough and chill it. Put the softened butter (at room temperature), granulated sugar, and vanilla into a large bowl and whip together using an electric hand beater (or stand mixer if preferred) for about 5 minutes or until creamy, airy and smooth. Now add the yolk and beat into the mixture.

Add all the flour at once and fold into the butter mixture with a wooden spoon until well blended.

Put the cookie dough on a lightly floured flat surface, and knead with your hands very briefly to form a large log. Wrap it in plastic wrap and flatten it a bit and put it in the fridge to chill for 2 to 3 hours.

Make and bake the Italian butter cookies. When the cookie dough is almost done chilling, preheat the oven to 180° C. Remove a third of the dough and put it on a lightly floured surface. Roll out with a rolling pin. If you are going to make sandwich cookies, the dough should be rolled out to a thickness of about 3 mm. Instead, if you are going to simply decorate the cookies they can be 4-5 mm thick.

Using cookie cutters, make any shapes you want and put them on prepared baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake in a static oven at 180° C for 10 minutes for thinner cookies and 12 minutes for thicker cookies. They should be lightly golden brown.

Cool and decorate the Italian butter cookies. Remove from the oven and carefully transfer to a wire rack to let the cookies cool completely. Once the cookies are completely cooled you can proceed to either dip them in chocolate, fill them to make cookie sandwiches, or simply enjoy the plain Italian butter cookies with a sprinkling of powdered sugar. Cookies can then be stored in an airtight container or cookie tin.

Expert tips and tricks

• Chill cookie dough. Be sure to chill the cookie dough for at least two hours, you can even chill it longer because chilled dough holds its shape better when cutting out and baking the cookies.
• Bake cookies of the same width together. Only place Italian butter cookies that are the same width together on one baking sheet, if not they will bake unevenly, with some being overdone and some underdone.
• Sift flour mixture. By sifting your flour you break up any lumps and get a more accurate measurement of the quantity of flour you are using. It is also lighter and mixes better with other ingredients when making cookie dough and other dessert batters. If you choose to add baking powder, you can sift it and add it to the sifted flour mixture before using.

Variations of Italian butter cookies

• Chocolate-dipped cookies. Make these delicious cookies even better by dipping them in sweet, heavenly melted chocolate. To make the chocolate version, start by melting 100 grams of dark chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate chips in a bain-marie, stirring until completely melted and smooth. Then dip half of each Italian butter cookie into the melted chocolate and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. You can let the chocolate harden at room temperature or in the fridge, whichever you prefer. You can even top with rainbow sprinkles by rolling the melted chocolate-covered part of the cookie immediately in a dish filled with sprinkles, either on one side or both and then let cool completely until hardened.
• Italian sandwich cookies with filling. If you think the cookie by itself sounds yummy, how about making the cookies spread with a generous portion of either Nutella, chocolate ganache or jam (such as apricot, strawberry or raspberry jam) on the flat side of one cookie and then pressed with a second cookie to form Italian sandwich cookies. For an even more precise application you can use a piping bag with your filling of choice.
• Puffier Italian butter cookies. If you want your Italian butter cookies to be a little puffier and lighter and less dense you can stir in a teaspoon of baking powder or baking soda into the flour before adding the flour mixture into the butter. Baking powder or soda will give your homemade butter cookies a little lift while baking.
• Chocolate butter cookies. There are two more ways to use chocolate to make your butter cookies a chocolate lovers dream. One way is to add in 50 grams of mini chocolate chips directly into the dough before you chill it to make chocolate chip butter cookies. A second way is to add 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder to the dough when you add the flour and make a chocolate butter cookie.

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