Vanilla Bean Butter Cookies
These Vanilla Bean Butter Cookies are piped, bakery-style cookies with lightly crisp edges and a soft, buttery center. Made with real vanilla bean paste and baked until just set, they’re elegant, simple, and delicious. Perfect for holidays, cookie trays, or even with a cup of coffee.
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Servings: 40 cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups plus 1 tbsp all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 large egg
- 2 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 1 tbsp orange juice
- 1-1 1/2 tbsp whole milk start with 1 tbsp and if not pipeable, add ½ tbsp
- 3/4 tsp salt
- Sprinkles for decorating
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter and granulated sugar together on medium speed until very light and fluffy, about 3–4 minutes.
- Mix in the egg, vanilla bean paste, orange juice, and milk until smooth and fully incorporated.
- Add the flour and salt and mix on low speed just until a soft, pipeable dough forms. If the dough feels too stiff to pipe, add 1/2 tbsp more milk.
- Transfer the dough to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip (open star or French star works best).
- Pipe swirls, rosettes, or S-shapes onto a parchment lined baking sheet, spacing them 1–2 inches apart. I make them small, around 1 ½ inch round cookies.
- Bake at 350°F for 9-10 minutes, until the edges are just set and the tops look matte. Do not brown the tops, these cookies stay pale.
- Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.