These are all kinds of fun to make with the kids, and they taste like melt-in-your-mouth little clouds of buttery heaven…
When a recipe is this good, you don’t need a lot of bells and whistles. You just need three ingredients that I bet you already have in your kitchen. Go grab them because very soon, this cookie will be yours to devour and eat with everything.
These butter cookies are something you can throw together very quickly and enjoy with all kinds of dips, sauces, jams or jellies. You could even try creme fraîche, mascarpone, powdered sugar icing, ice cream, peanut butter, whipped strawberry icing, and melted chocolate—the possibilities are as endless as your imagination.
They’re fun to make with kids. No matter what shape they pipe and smash them into, they bake into little whirls of delicious cookies. With this recipe, everyone always has something yummy in the shape they made themselves. They can make stars, clouds, trees, and hearts… because kids do pretty well with piping bags.
Move Over Beyoncé, These Butter Cookies Are Going to Break the Internet
Until I made these cookies (and I’ve baked many cookies, mind you), I had never made a cookie with powdered sugar in it — just on it.
And now I get it.
See, powdered sugar has a finer texture than refined regular sugar. And wow, what it does for both the flavor and texture of a butter cookie is kind of amazing. Instead of melting into a super-sweet, hot lava of sugar flavor, this powdered sugar brings a much softer sugar flavor to these cookies, making the butter really stand out more.
You can garnish these with turbinado sugar (a type of raw sugar with large grains) if you want a broken, shiny glaze kind of coating and an even crisper texture. But I love them dusted with powdered sugar, which gives them this butter cookie meets Mexican wedding cookie kind of feel.
How to Make Ahead and Store
These are a treat to eat now and not later. If you do want to keep some for later though, they store best if you refrigerate them because of the high butter content. For example, you can store them at room temperature for a few days, but they last about 1-2 weeks in the fridge. You can also freeze them for 3 months or so, but their texture might slightly change.
On Flour…
I studied these cookies. You have to be careful with the flour and really measure it, leveling it off with a spoon. Because you are working with just three ingredients, make sure everything is on point with this one. Don’t add extra flour or butter… but that’s my next tip.
The Perfect Butter Consistency
The butter for these can get tricky if you don’t stand right by that microwave and watch your butter. You don’t want it to the point of melting big time, but you want it to be softened throughout so it easily mixes with the powdered sugar.
Serving Suggestions
I just love making these delicious cookies for gift baskets at Christmas or for someone’s birthday. It says so much more if you make something yourself for the people you love, doesn’t it? At Christmas, I put these in old-fashioned cookie tins with other much-beloved aboutamom.com recipes for cookies. This is my hit list for them, and I rotate them often for myself, not just my clients.
Rhonda’s faves (all with a large, tall glass of cold regular or vanilla milk): Kitchen Sink Cookies, White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies, Chocolate Peppermint Cookies, and these much beloved Christmas Melted Snowmen Cookies. All of these cookies keep well and last a long time, so you can enjoy them for a week and maybe a little more.
If you love these buttery three-ingredient butter cookies, you will adore these Jam-Filled Butter Cookies, too.
3-Ingredient Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- Turbinado sugar or extra powdered sugar for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Get ready. Preheat your oven to 350°F (177°C) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper for easy cleanup.
- Mix it up. In a large bowl, cream together the softened butter and powdered sugar until it’s fluffy and light in color, about 5 minutes with an electric mixer.
- Add flour. Gradually mix in the flour on low speed until just combined, then increase speed until a soft dough forms.
- Shape cookies. Transfer the dough to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip and pipe your desired shapes onto the prepared baking sheets.
- Chill. Pop the baking sheets in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up the dough, which helps the cookies maintain their shape while baking.
- Bake. Bake one sheet at a time for 15-20 minutes until the cookies are lightly golden. Let them cool before moving and garnish with a sprinkle of sugar on top if desired
“These butter cookies look amazing and so simple to make! I love how you’ve created a delicious treat with just three ingredients. Can’t wait to try this easy recipe—perfect for a quick baking session. Thanks for sharing!”