World's Best Butter Cookies

By Addie

"I tested 8 different butter cookie recipes, looking for the "perfect" butter cookie. It had to be buttery, a little crumbly (like shortbread), and not too sweet. This is the winner. I think these are the Worlds Best Butter Cookie, courtesy of Chef Alice Medrich."

Ingredients

• 8 ounces unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 large egg yolk
• 2 cups all-purpose flour

Preparation

Step 1

Beat the butter, sugar, salt and vanilla together until smooth and creamy.

Mix in the egg yolk until well incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl at least once.

Add the flour and mix just until incorporated.

Scrape onto a lightly floured board and knead a few times, just until the dough smooths out.

Turn onto a sheet of plastic wrap and roll into a log, wrap up and refrigerate for several hours or freeze.

Before baking, preheat the oven to 325°F. Line your baking sheets with parchment.

Slice the dough into slices about 1/8" thick and place them on the sheets about an inch apart (they won't be spreading very much, but they need air room around each cookie).

Bake until JUST beginning to turn golden around the edges, about 16-18 minutes.


Note: you can do many things with these cookies. You could roll the dough out and cut shapes. You could slice them even thinner and sandwich them with chocolate or jam or lemon curd. You could make them and then dip them half into chocolate. You could just make them and eat them, which is my favorite. Whatever you do, they will be delicious.
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REVIEWS: (128)

Well, ta-da! I thought I recognized this recipe. I agree, this is the best butter cookie. I make them with a hand held beater, and they are always wonderful. It's that one egg yolk which turns them from ordinary to special. One of my kids always like a whole blanched almond planted in the middle.

I have been looking for a butter cookie that tastes like the ones Gramma used to bake. This is the recipe. Thanks, PetitFour, these are the best butter cookies ever!

Wonderful buttery cookies with a flakey texture that were not too sweet (just like PetitFour described them). The flavor of these cookies reminds me of those Danish butter cookies that come in a round tin and are sold mostly during the holidays. My kids loved these cookies.

Very nice, crispy, buttery cookies. Love the texture and the sweetness is just right. I overbaked the first batch but they still taste pretty yummy. I added 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder to 1/4 of the dough and made chocolate butter cookies. And I sprinkled some sugar on top. The dough is pretty sticky, so you have to work fast; while the dough is still cold. Very easy to make too. Thanks!

Perfect taste, texture, appearance...everything!! I nearly wrote a review while they were in the oven because the sweet smell of them baking was unbelievable! These will definitely replace the holiday butter cookies I've previously made.

This recipe made the perfect cookies. I made two half batches. In the first, I substituted lemon extract for vanilla and added the zest of half a lemon and 1 tablespoon of poppyseeds. In the second half batch, I added the same amount of poppyseeds, and did 1/2 teaspoon anise extract and 1/4 teaspoon of almond extract.....The taste, texture and color made these the best cookies I have ever made. Thank you!

Well! These are the butter cookies you WANT to make!! Perfect texture, sweet buttery taste . After tasting them I closed my eyes and thought I was in heaven!!I think its the the addition of the egg yolk and extra vanilla , but whatever it is ....TRY THESE!

These really are the world's best butter cookies! They have a wonderful buttery flavor and their texture is perfect. I sprinkled a little granulated sugar on the tops before baking. I'll be making these again and again. Thanks, PetitFour, for this excellent recipe!!

Great recipe! Very delicate taste and texture. I reduced the vanilla extract and added lemon extract instead. So good!

It's no joke, these are the best. I'm extremely particular about my butter cookies, and I've been looking for the perfect recipe for ages - here it is! These are amazing with and without icing, as all of my friends who gobbled them up agree. I will be returning to this page!

Yummy!!! I just made these for Valentine's day. I slightly under baked them and I loved them. I must confess, I think I have almost eaten them all so I must make another batch for the weekend. I added a spritz of old fashioned butter cream frosting and tinted bright pink and finished off with some white non-perils. Next time I will be rolling them out a little thinner to get them more crisp. They a very delicate in their flavor and I actually liked less frosting on them because the cookie was so delicious. Thank you so much for this recipe. The only problem I have is I don't want to share my cookies :)

Like many, I have been in search of the PERFECT butter cookie. I was kind of disappointed in this- as that I'm sure there's a better one out there. I followed recipe- and it was "okay" ... but no the world's best. I whipped up a chocolate frosting (melted 1/2 cup chocolate chips with 2 tbs butter, powdered sugar, almond flavoring and a touch of half/ half) and spread onto the cookies to try to liven them up. Won't make again- and if anyone wants to reply with another recipe link, please do. I love butter cookies!!!

Okay, I have to say this is the best butter cookie recipe ever. I had the High School Butter Cookie recipe everyone loves, but it fell short. I got it online. The cookie was not quite exactly like the butter cookie I remember from school. This recipe is it. My other recipe did not have the egg yolk. What a difference it makes! The cookies came out buttery, flakey, with still a crisp to them, exactly as I remember them from High School. They just melt in your mouth. I highly, highly recommend this recipe. Hurry and make them you will not regret it!