3 Ingredient Butter Cookies (No Eggs)
Store bought tins of butter cookies look tempting, but the cookies inside are often dry and forgettable. This homemade version takes the opposite approach. It uses just three ingredients, butter, powdered sugar, and all purpose flour, and it contains no eggs at all.
The result is a crisp, buttery, lightly sweet cookie that holds its piped shape and tastes far better than anything that arrives in a tin.
The dough comes together in one bowl, pipes into pretty swirls with an open star tip, and bakes into golden cookies that suit holidays, cookie swaps, tea time, or a simple gift box tied with ribbon.
This version is adapted from the original 3 ingredient butter cookies recipe at Kirbie Cravings.
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Ingredients
Three ingredients carry this entire recipe, so each one matters. Here is what you need and why each one is there.
- Butter. Unsalted butter was used for this dough, though salted butter works if you like a touch of salt in the cookie. Soften it before you start, and let it go slightly beyond soft. The dough will not have the right consistency otherwise.
- Powdered sugar. Powdered sugar creates the crisp texture and supplies the sweetness. It creams into the butter far more smoothly than granulated sugar would.
- All purpose flour. Standard all purpose flour is what this recipe calls for. The dough has not been tested with gluten free flour, so keep that in mind if you need a gluten free cookie.
- Optional vanilla. Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract along with the flour for a more fragrant cookie.
The full measurements are listed again in the recipe card section below, with gram weights for anyone who prefers to weigh ingredients.
How to Make Danish Butter Cookies
Cream the butter and powdered sugar at high speed for about 5 minutes, until the mixture turns from yellow to white and looks like whipped cream. Scrape the bowl a few times as you go so all of the butter gets creamed evenly.
Then add the flour at low speed and increase gradually. The mixture looks crumbly at first, then comes together into a thick, soft dough, almost like a thick paste.
From there, pipe the dough with a large open star tip into spiral swirls or any design you like. Swirls give the cookies the look people recognize from tins of classic Danish butter cookies, while simple circles come closest to the shape of the tinned version.
The shape is flexible, but the dough handling is not, so keep the butter soft and the flour measured carefully.
More Easy Cookies
If you enjoy this one, a Danish butter cookies recipe is a natural next step. Other simple options include 2 Ingredient Chocolate Butter Cookies, 3 Ingredient Sugar Cookies, 2 Ingredient Peanut Butter Meltaway Cookies, and 3 Ingredient Melting Moments.
Ingredients
Here is the exact list, with gram weights if you prefer to weigh your ingredients.
- 1 cup (227 g) butter, softened and slightly melted
- 1 cup (118 g) powdered sugar
- 2 cups (256 g) all purpose flour
Instructions
This is a one bowl dough, so the order below is all you need to follow.
- Preheat and prepare. Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line 2 large baking sheets with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
- Cream the butter and sugar. In a large mixing bowl, add the butter and powdered sugar. Cream at the highest speed for about 5 minutes, until light and fluffy. The mixture should turn from yellow to white and look like whipped cream when it is done. If you are using a stand mixer, stop and scrape the sides of the bowl a few times with a spatula so that all the butter gets creamed. A wire whisk attachment works well with a stand mixer.
- Mix in the flour. Add the flour and mix it in at low speed, then gradually increase the speed once the flour is incorporated. The mixture will be crumbly at first, then it should form a thick, soft dough, almost like a thick paste. Stop mixing once the dough comes together.
- Pipe and chill. Add the dough to a piping bag fitted with a large open star tip, one with a 1/2 inch opening. Pipe swirls or whatever design you prefer, spacing the cookies 1 inch apart. Place the piped cookies in the fridge for 30 minutes so the dough is chilled. Chilling prevents the cookies from spreading too much when they bake.
- Bake and cool. Place one cookie sheet in the middle of the oven. Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until the edges and surface start to turn a light brown. In the original batch, the cookies took about 18 to 20 minutes. Remove the cookies from the oven and bake the second tray. Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet before removing them. Store uneaten cookies in an airtight container.
Bake one sheet at a time. Two trays at once browned unevenly on the bottom rack.
Notes
These notes make the difference between a dough that pipes beautifully and one that fights back. Read them once before you start.
- Bake one sheet at a time. Baking two sheets at once left the cookies on the bottom rack unevenly browned on top. Keep one tray in the middle of the oven, then bake the second tray after the first comes out. It takes a few extra minutes, but the color is far more even.
- Add vanilla if you like. One teaspoon of vanilla extract goes in with the flour for a more fragrant cookie. The recipe works without it, so this is purely a flavor choice.
- Make the butter very soft. The butter should be very soft and slightly melted. Each stick should be mostly solid with about 1 tablespoon of liquid butter. A few seconds in the microwave is usually enough. Butter that is only softened leaves a lot of butter stuck to the sides of the bowl, which makes the dough too thick to pipe and takes longer to whip.
- Measure the flour by spooning and leveling. Spoon the flour into the measuring cup, then level it with a knife. Scooping straight from the bag packs in extra flour, and too much flour makes the dough too stiff to pipe.
- Loosen a stiff dough. If the dough will not pipe a full spiral, mix in 1 tablespoon of melted butter. Small adjustments like this are easier than starting over.
- Skip the piping bag if you prefer. Roll the dough into balls, then flatten them into very flat discs. Flatter discs crisp up better. Press a fork pattern into the tops for a traditional look, or leave them plain.
- Piping tip and yield. An Ateco 826 open star tip with a half inch opening was used for these cookies. Spiral swirls came out about 1.5 times the size of the cookies in a tin, and piping circles closer to the tinned size gave about 32 cookies. Your yield depends on the size you pipe.
- Do not add leavening. Baking powder and baking soda are not needed here. They would make the cookies spread too much and lose their piped shape.
Texture is the best guide at every stage. The creamed butter and sugar should look like whipped cream, the finished dough should look like a thick paste, and the piped cookies should feel firm after their chill. If any stage looks off, the notes above usually explain why.
Two habits keep everything consistent: chill the piped cookies for 30 minutes before baking, and let the baked cookies cool on the baking sheet before you lift them. Both steps protect the shape and texture you worked for.
Uneaten cookies keep well in an airtight container, which makes this a good recipe to bake ahead for a gift box or a cookie platter.
Recipe details
This recipe makes about 24 cookies, and it bakes in two trays.
- Prep time: 20 minutes
- Cook time: 20 minutes
- Total time: 40 minutes
- Servings: 24 cookies
Based on the source nutrition, one cookie has about 123 calories, 13 g carbohydrates, 7 g fat, and 1 g protein.
FAQs
What is the best way to prevent 3 ingredient butter cookies from spreading too much?
Chilling the piped cookie dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before baking is essential to prevent spreading. This solidifies the butter, helping the cookies hold their shape. For best results, bake only one sheet at a time in the middle of the oven.
Can I use granulated sugar instead of powdered sugar in 3 ingredient butter cookies?
No, powdered sugar is crucial for achieving the correct crispy, tender texture in these butter cookies. Powdered sugar contains cornstarch, which helps create a finer crumb and prevents excessive spreading, unlike granulated sugar.
Why is my 3 ingredient butter cookie dough too stiff to pipe?
If the dough is too stiff to pipe, it is often because the butter was not softened enough. For a smooth, pipeable dough, the butter should be very soft and slightly melted, with about 1 tablespoon of liquid butter per stick. You can also mix in 1 tablespoon of melted butter to fix stiff dough.
How should I store homemade 3 ingredient butter cookies?
Store uneaten butter cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. Because they are eggless, they have a longer shelf life and will remain crisp and fresh for several days when stored properly.
3 Ingredient Butter Cookies
- Total Time: 40 min
- Yield: 24 cookies 1x
Description
3 Ingredient Butter Cookies (No Eggs) Store bought tins of butter cookies look tempting, but the cookies inside are often dry and forgettable. This homemade version takes the opposite approach.
Ingredients
1 cup butter, softened and slightly melted
1 cup powdered sugar
2 cups all purpose flour
Instructions
1-Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C): Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line 2 large baking sheets with silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
2-In a large mixing bowl, add butter: In a large mixing bowl, add butter and sugar. Cream at highest speed for about 5 minutes or until light and fluffy. The mixture should turn from yellow to white and look like whipped cream when you are done. If you are using a stand mixer, make sure to stop and scrape the sides of your bowl a few times with a spatula so that all the butter gets creamed. I used the wire whisk attachment with the stand mixer.
3-Add in the flour: Add in the flour. Mix in at low speed and then gradually increase speed once flour is incorporated. The mixture will be crumbly at first but then should form a thick, soft dough, almost like a thick paste. You can stop mixing once the dough comes together.
4-Add dough to a piping bag: Add dough to a piping bag. Using a large open star tip (I used one with a 1/2 inch opening), pipe swirls or whatever design you prefer. Space cookies 1 inch apart. See notes for other options if you don’t wish to pipe the cookies. Place piped cookies into fridge for 30 minutes so the dough is chilled. This will prevent the cookies from spreading too much when they bake.
5-Place one cookie sheet into the middle: Place one cookie sheet into the middle of your oven. Bake cookies for about 15-20 minutes or until edges and surface start to turn a light brown. (Mine took about 18-20 minutes). Remove cookies from oven and bake the second tray. Let cookies cool on cookie sheet before removing. Store uneaten cookies in an airtight container.
- Prep Time: 20 min
- Cook Time: 20 min
- Method: bake
Nutrition
- Calories: 123kcal
- Sugar: 5g
- Fat: 7g
- Saturated Fat: 5g
- Carbohydrates: 13g
- Fiber: 0.3g
- Protein: 1g
Keywords: 3 Ingredient Butter Cookies