Quick and easy, melt in the mouth butter cookies recipe that I used to make as a kid in my granny’s kitchen.
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
My Granny and her Butter Cookies
These butter cookies are one of those childhood recipes that will always remind me of my enterprising granny with whom I spent a large part of my growing up years.
They have an amazing melt in your mouth feel, I’m always reaching for more and you know I have a propensity to dunk everything in my tea or coffee don’t you? Well, they’re even better that way!
My granny was a seamstress and a cook from a fairly young age. She married quite young, as women in certain cultures did at that time; I believe she had my mum when she was only 17 and my uncle the following year! She also adopted two more babies a few years down the road, my two aunts, the youngest is only about 7 years older than me!
And over the years, she took in so many “strays” that as we were growing up, that’d be a constant stream of strangers, knocking on our door, thanking her for her love, her care, her direction, yada, yada.
She really was something else! I was just telling my kids yesterday that as we were growing up, we didn’t buy any clothes because my granny would always be dressing us in the latest fashion, all done with her trusted Singer sewing machine.
A couple of months before every festive season, she’d be besieged with tailoring orders from folks all over, all by word of mouth. In Singapore, this would be about four times a year as we “officially” celebrate Christmas, Eid, Diwali and the Chinese New Year. And this is before we get into the food business she ran from home for many, many years!
Our Butter Cookies
Now I have tweaked the recipe. I remember my granny’s used to be a little on the crunchy side. I’ve made the dough much softer, giving you that melt in your mouth feel.
Some would call them shortbread but as we have a shortbread recipe made with part semolina, we insist on butter cookies!
We like to press out the cookies using a cookie press because we have one! That’s exactly how we used to make it in my granny’s kitchen 30 – 40 years ago! The cookie press is easily found everywhere, especially online. Click here to get it on Amazon, through my affiliate link.
Another Family Recipe
Fancy another eggless family recipe? Deliciously crumbly, traditional Norfolk Shortcake recipe, originally from Bacton, via Leicester and handed down to me by my father-in-law.
No Cookie Press? No Sweat!
- Roll the dough out into a long sausage, place it in the fridge, then slice it into discs.
- You could even just roll them into little balls, place them on your baking sheet, then press down slightly.
- If you don’t want to get a cookie press, a piping bag with a large star or flower piping nozzle like the Wilton 1M or 2D will work perfectly.
👉 see images in the recipe card for working without a cookie press.
The dough doesn’t spread much, so you don’t have to space them out too much.
Images by LinsFoodies
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Lin xx
Easy Eggless Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 180 g plain flour
- 30 g cornflour (cornstarch in the US)
- 180 g salted butter
- 50 g icing sugar (powdered sugar)
- ½ tsp good quality vanilla extract
Instructions
- Sift the flours together.180 g plain flour, 30 g cornflour
- Beat the butter and sugar together in a large bowl with a wooden spoon until thoroughly mixed and light and pale. A minute will do.180 g salted butter, 50 g icing sugar
- Stir in the vanilla or any flavouring you prefer.½ tsp good quality vanilla extract
- Tip in the flour mix and work with the wooden spoon, then your fingers to form a dough. DO NOT knead, work lightly.
- Wrap in clingfilm and place in the fridge for 15 minutes.Preheat the oven to 160˚C (310˚F / 140°C Fan).
Using a Cookie Press
- If using a cookie press, fill the press with the dough and stamp out cookies onto a baking sheet.
- Press or pipe out the cookies onto a large baking sheet.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes or so until the cookies are a light golden colour.
Without a Cookie Press
- Divide the dough out into 2. Wrap one of them back in the clingfilm and place in the fridge until needed.
- Roll the other half of the dough into a roll.
- Using a sharp knife, slice little discs about ½in thick (just over 1cm). Work quickly, as the dough warms up, it'll soften.
- Arrange the dough on a baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes until a light golden colour. Repeat with the other half of the dough. You can bake 2 baking trays at the same time.
Can I use a cookie cutter instead of cookie press?
Hi Yvonne, this is a pretty soft dough. So if you’re using a cookie cutter after placing it in the fridge, work fast. For me, rolling it into a log and cutting is the easiest option.