Italian Butter Cookies Cut Out Style
https://easyhomemaderecipes.caThese melt in your mouth Italian Butter Cookies are a traditional cut-out shortbread cookie made with simple pantry ingredients. Rich, buttery, and perfect for any occasion, then dipped in chocolate or enjoyed plain!Just as good as the cookies you find at the Italian bakery down the street, you'll quickly add this recipe to your recipe book for future use.Italian Butter Cookies make the perfect cookie for your Christmas cookie tray. And if you are looking for something that can be ready in a jiff, try my lemon cookies made from box cake mix, Authentic Italian Pizzelle Cookies, or my Cranberry Orange Butter Cookies.
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Ingredients
- 1 cups butter room temperature
- ½ cups sugar
- ⅓ cups icing sugar
- ½ tbsp baking powder
- 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
- ¼ tbsp salt eliminate if using salted butter
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 1 egg yolk room temperature
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup all purpose flour for rolling dough
Decoration
- ½ cups milk chocolate wafers melted, for dipping
- ½ oz pure cocoa butter chips OPTIONAL: about 6-8 chips
- ¼ cups sprinkles for topping
- ¼ cups chopped nuts for topping
- ¼ cups shredded coconut for topping
- 1 tbsp orange zest about 1 orange
Instructions
- Add butter and sugars to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat ingredients at medium speed until smooth. About 3 minutes. Add vanilla extract and orange zest and mix.1 cups butter, ½ cups sugar, ⅓ cups icing sugar, 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract, 1 tbsp orange zest
- In another mixing bowl combine flour, salt, and baking powder together. Combine well using a whisk. Add dry ingredients to the butter mixture a little at a time alternating with the eggs. Mix on low speed while you continue to alternate between the flour mixture and eggs. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed. Finish mixing until the mixture resembles a dough. If needed you can remove from stand mixer and finish combining ingredients manually on the counter.½ tbsp baking powder, 2 ½ cups all purpose flour, ¼ tbsp salt, 2 eggs, 1 egg yolk
- Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, set aside.
- Roll out the cookie dough to about ¼ of an inch and using a cookie cutter cut out your cookies or a sharp knife and place them carefully on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.1 cup all purpose flour
- Chill in the freezer for 2 hours.
- Preheat oven to 350℉ degrees
- Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes or until edges are just slight light golden brown. The larger your cookies are, the more time they will need to bake.
- Cool completely. OPTIONAL:Place the chocolate wafers in bowl and melt the chocolate either in a double boiler or in the microwave.Stir the chocolate occasionally so that it melts evenly. If you find that your chocolate is too dry and thick, add some pure cocoa butter chips (unflavored).Once cooled dip in melted chocolate and immediately decorate with chopped nuts, sprinkles or shredded coconut. When dipping remember to dip the sides of the cookies. Let set for another hour on the baking sheet at room temperature.½ cups milk chocolate wafers, ¼ cups sprinkles, ¼ cups chopped nuts, ¼ cups shredded coconut, ½ oz pure cocoa butter chips
Notes
Use room temperature butter and eggs because cold butter won't cream properly.
Chill the cookies before baking because cold = sharp edges.
Roll the dough evenly to ¼ inch thickness for even baking.
Pull out the cookies before they look done. Bake until the edges are just barely golden. The cookies will continue to set on the pan as they cool. Overbaking is the number one reason butter cookies lose their tender texture.
Cool completely before dipping. If you're dipping in chocolate, patience is the key. Dipping a warm cookie will cause the chocolate to slide right off.
Set the cookie after dipping completely by allowing the chocolate to dry for 4 to 6 hours. Then store in an airtight container at room temperature.
You can also store the cookies in the freezer in an airtight container, but don't dip them in chocolate or decorate them until you thaw them out.
Melt chocolate slowly to avoid overheating.
If using a microwave, heat chocolate wafers for 30 second intervals, stirring after each cycle. Reduce the time as the chocolate melts.
Let excess chocolate drip off cookies before placing them on cookie stand.
Nutrition
Serving: 1Calories: 166kcalCarbohydrates: 20gProtein: 2gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 34mgSodium: 156mgPotassium: 39mgFiber: 1gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 215IUVitamin C: 0.02mgCalcium: 21mgIron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
