Bakery-Style Italian Butter Cookies: Rich, Melt-In-Your-Mouth Recipe
Follow this simple recipe to make authentic Italian Butter Cookies at home. These rich, buttery cookies have a tender texture that melts in your mouth, making them perfect for holiday baking or serving with coffee.
- Prep Time: 25 min
- Cook Time: 12 min
- Total Time: 67 min
- Yield: 3 dozen 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Italian
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- For dipping/decorating (optional): 4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, melted, or raspberry jam
Instructions
- In a large bowl, cream together the softened butter and powdered sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy.
- Beat in the egg yolk, vanilla extract, and almond extract until fully combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour and salt.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing on low speed until just combined into a soft dough. Do not overmix.
- Transfer the dough to a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip (like a Wilton 1M) for classic swirls, or use a cookie press for other shapes.
- Pipe small swirls or desired shapes onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
- Chill the shaped cookies in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. This helps them hold their shape during baking.
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175 degrees Celsius).
- Bake the chilled cookies for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden. They should remain pale in the center.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before carefully transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- If desired, dip half of each cooled cookie into melted semi-sweet chocolate or fill the center of sandwich cookies with raspberry jam. Let any chocolate set before serving.
Notes
- For the best melt-in-your-mouth texture, use room temperature butter.
- You can substitute some of the vanilla extract with lemon zest for a brighter flavor.
- These cookies freeze well before baking; place frozen shapes directly onto a lined baking sheet and add a few extra minutes to the bake time.
- If you do not have a pastry bag, you can roll the dough into small logs and slice them into rounds before chilling.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 110
- Sugar: 8
- Sodium: 35
- Fat: 7
- Saturated Fat: 4
- Unsaturated Fat: 3
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 11
- Fiber: 0
- Protein: 1
- Cholesterol: 25