Love Letter Butter Cookies

Love Letter Butter Cookies are delicate, crisp cookies crafted from a simple butter-based dough. Their fragile edges melt in your mouth, while their tender centers showcase intricate shapes and fine textures, often with a slightly golden finish. The recipe highlights careful shaping, chilling, and baking to achieve a refined, storybook-like treat.

Hit the Rating button

Print Pin

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: French

Prep Time: 20

Cook Time: 8

Total Time: 28

Calories: 85kcal

Author: James Taylor

Servings:

Equipment

▢
Rolling Pin
▢
Baking sheet

Ingredients

Instructions

Cream the softened butter and powdered sugar together in a mixing bowl until the mixture is light, fluffy, and pale, about 2-3 minutes, and you hear a gentle scraping sound. This creates a smooth, pale base for your cookies.
Add the egg yolk and vanilla extract to the creamed mixture, then beat until fully incorporated and smooth, approximately 30 seconds. The mixture may look slightly curdled but will come together as you continue.
Sift the all-purpose flour into the bowl, then gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet mixture using a spatula, just until a soft dough begins to form and no streaks of flour remain. The dough will be slightly sticky but workable.
Gather the dough into a ball, wrap it in plastic wrap, and flatten into a thick disk. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to relax the gluten and firm up the dough, making it easier to roll out.
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Lightly flour a clean work surface and your rolling pin to prevent sticking. Remove the chilled dough from the fridge and roll it out to about 1/8 inch thickness, aiming for an even layer.
Use small shaped cutters or a knife to cut the dough into delicate, letter-shaped pieces or your preferred shapes. Transfer the cut cookies onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing them about 1 inch apart.
Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the edges turn a light golden brown and the scents of butter and vanilla fill the air. Watch carefully to prevent over-browning.
Remove the baking sheet from the oven and let the cookies cool on it for about 5 minutes until they firm up slightly, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. The cookies should be crisp and fragile at this stage.
Once cooled, carefully handle the cookies—they are delicate but beautifully shaped and crisp. Serve them on a plate or store in an airtight container once fully cooled to maintain their fragile, melt-in-your-mouth texture.

Notes

Chilling the dough is key to achieving crisp edges and easy shaping. Use small and precise cutters for the best detail. Store leftovers in a sealed container to keep them fresh and crispy.

Nutrition