Few cookies are as simple as a good butter cookie. There’s no chocolate, no spices, and no mix-ins. Just buttery flavor, a crisp bite, and a texture that melts in your mouth. They’re the kind of cookie that has you reaching for one more.
This slice-and-bake version makes the work easy. You mix a soft dough, shape it into a log, and chill it. When you’re ready to bake, you roll the log in sparkly sugar, slice it, and put the slices in the oven. The recipe has a 4.98-star rating from 1,539 votes, so plenty of bakers agree it works.
Plan a little time for chilling. The dough needs at least an hour in the fridge, and it can wait up to 72 hours if you want to bake later.
Recipe Card
- Prep time: 15 minutes
- Chill time: 1 hour
- Cook time: 10 minutes (the instructions say 10 to 12 minutes)
- Total time: 1 hour 25 minutes
- Servings: 16 cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (240g)
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened (227g)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup granulated sugar (100g)
- 2 large egg yolks
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup sanding sugar or coarse sugar (66g)
Before You Start
Use a good vanilla. Vanilla is one of the standout flavors here, so skip the artificial kind.
Measure the flour carefully. Too much flour is the most common mistake in cookie recipes. A kitchen scale is the best and easiest way to measure it. If you don’t have one, fluff the flour with a spoon, sprinkle it into your measuring cup, and level it off with a knife.
Soften the butter. It needs to be soft so it beats up light and fluffy.
How to Make Butter Cookies
Part 1: Make the Dough
- Beat the butter, sugar, and salt. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the softened butter, granulated sugar, and salt together. Keep going for 2 to 3 minutes, until the mixture looks light and fluffy.
- Add the yolks and vanilla. Mix in the egg yolks and vanilla until combined. Stop once or twice to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Add the flour. Mix in the flour on low speed, just until it’s incorporated.
Part 2: Shape and Chill
- Knead the dough. Dump the dough onto the counter. It will be soft, so flour the surface and your hands as needed. Knead it a few times, just until it comes together into one solid ball.
- Form a log. Shape the dough into a long log, about 12 inches long.
- Wrap it. Place the log on a sheet of parchment paper or plastic wrap. Wrap it tightly and twist the ends to seal.
- Chill. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to 72 hours. To keep the bottom of the dough from flattening, you can place the wrapped log inside an empty cardboard paper towel roll.
Part 3: Coat, Slice, and Bake
- Heat the oven and prep the pans. Once the dough is chilled, preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Coat in sugar. Sprinkle the sanding sugar on a clean surface or a rimmed baking sheet. Unwrap the dough and roll it in the sugar until it’s well coated. Press down as you roll so the sugar sticks.
- Slice. Use a sharp knife to cut the dough into slices about ¾ inch thick.
- Arrange on the pans. Place the cookies on the parchment-lined baking sheets, about an inch apart.
- Bake. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. The cookies are ready when the edges are just turning golden brown.
- Cool. Let the cookies cool completely on the baking sheets.
Tips and Variations
Get a crisper cookie. After baking, leave the baking sheet in the oven. Turn the oven off and crack the door slightly open. This dries the cookies out further, giving them that crunchy, out-of-the-tin texture.
Sanding sugar is optional. It adds a nice crunch to the edge, but you can skip it or use regular granulated sugar instead.
Make cut-out cookies. This dough works for cut-outs too. Form it into a disk, wrap it, and chill it. Then roll it out to ¼ inch thick, cut your shapes, and bake.
Protect the shape of the log. An empty paper towel roll helps keep the dough from flattening on the bottom while it chills.
Flour your hands and counter. The dough is soft, so a little flour makes it easier to handle.
Don’t overbake. Pull the cookies as soon as the edges are just turning golden brown.
Serving Suggestions
The recipe doesn’t list specific pairings. The cookies need to cool completely on the baking sheets before you serve them, so give them time to firm up. The sugar coating gives each one a sparkly edge, which makes them look nice on a plate as they are.
You might like: Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies Topped with a Chocolate Kiss
Final Thoughts
Butter cookies prove that a short ingredient list can still deliver. With real butter, good vanilla, and a sparkly sugar edge, these cookies are crisp, rich, and easy to bake. The dough keeps in the fridge until you’re ready, so you can bake a few fresh cookies whenever you like.
If you try this recipe, leave a comment and tell me how your cookies turned out. I’d also love to hear whether you tried the extra-crisp oven trick.