Butterfly Cookies Recipes

BUTTERFLY SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Combine butter and sugar in bowl; beat at medium speed until creamy. Add egg, milk and almond extract; continue beating until well mixed. Add flour and baking powder; beat at low speed until well mixed.
• Divide dough into thirds; place each portion into separate bowl. Tint each portion with desired gel food color.
• Shape each dough into a ball; flatten to 1/2-inch thickness. Wrap each in plastic food wrap; refrigerate 2-3 hours or until firm.
• Heat oven to 400°F.
• Roll out dough, one-third at a time, on lightly floured surface (keeping remaining dough refrigerated) to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut with 2-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter.
• Form butterflies by placing bottom tips of 2 heart cookies together, so they are touching, onto ungreased cookie sheets. Press down slightly to join cookies. Sprinkle with decorator sugar. Repeat with remaining cookies. Bake 6-8 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned. Decorate with remaining candies as desired. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to cooling rack.

FRENCH BUTTERFLY COOKIES (PAPILLONS)

Steps:

• Sprinkle 1/2 cup sugar on work surface. Place dough on top and sprinkle with 1/2 cup sugar; press to adhere. Roll out dough into a 16-by-12-inch rectangle, about 1/8 inch thick.
• Position dough so that one long side is parallel to edge of work surface. Fold each of the long sides of dough towards the middle to meet one another without overlapping. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons sugar. Then fold one of the short sides over to meet the opposite short side. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar. Finally, fold one long side in half to meet the opposite long side. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar. Firmly press down on dough with your hands, wrap tightly in plastic, and refrigerate at least 1 hour or preferably overnight.
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Lightly spray a rimmed baking sheet with water. Place more sugar in a shallow bowl. Trim ends of chilled dough, then cut crosswise into 3/4-inch-thick slices. Dip cut sides of slices in sugar, then transfer to prepared sheet, spacing about 3 inches apart.
• Bake until sugar is golden and caramelized, 10 to 12 minutes. Using a wide spatula, carefully flip each cookie, then return to oven and continue to bake until deep golden brown, about 6 minutes more. Transfer cookies to a wire rack; let cool completely. Repeat with remaining slices. Cookies are best eaten the day they are made but can be stored in an airtight container, between sheets of parchment, at room temperature up to 1 day.

BUTTERFLY SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• For the cookies: Combine the granulated sugar, butter and orange zest in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the vanilla and eggs and beat until fully combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl halfway through with a spatula.
• Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl.
• With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, alternating with the milk in 2 batches; mix until the dough comes together.
• Divide the dough in half and flatten each portion into a disk. Place each disk into a separate resealable plastic bag. Refrigerate the dough until firm, about 2 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll out both pieces of dough until about 1/4 inch thick.
• Using 2 different sized butterfly cookie cutters (2-inch and 3-inch), cut out as many cookies as you can. Use the 2-inch cutter on one portion of dough and the 3-inch cutter on the other portion of dough. Be sure to dip the cutters in flour every other cookie or so while you are cutting them out to prevent the dough from sticking.
• Transfer as many of the cookies as will fit onto the prepared baking sheets and bake until they're just set but not browned, about 7 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes on the baking sheets, then remove to racks to cool completely before decorating. Repeat with the remaining cookies.
• For the icing: Combine the powdered sugar, milk and egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat on medium-high speed until thick and glossy. Add more powdered sugar if the icing seems too thin. Add more milk if it is too thick. You may need to play with it until it is just right. The icing should be loose enough to stick to the cookies in an even layer, but not too loose to slide off.
• For decorating: Divide the icing among 3 or 4 smaller bowls. Add 2 to 3 drops each of red and orange food coloring to each bowl, scattering it over the surface of the icing. Drag a toothpick through the drops a few times to make swirls.
• Dip the top of each cookie in the icing and let the excess drip off over the bowl. Transfer the dipped cookies to a rack and allow to dry completely. When the colors in the first bowl of icing become too muddled, move on to the next bowl of icing and so forth until all the cookies are iced. Let the icing dry completely, about 1 hour.

BUTTERFLY COOKIES

Steps:

• Heat cream cheese in a large microwave safe bowl for 1 minute on 80 percent power in microwave to soften. Add sugar cookie mix, 1/4 cup flour, egg and extract. Stir with wooden spoon until dough is well combined and forms a ball.
• Sprinkle a flat rolling surface with 1 tablespoon flour. Divide dough in half and roll out onto lightly floured surface using a rolling pin. Roll the rolling pin back and forth, turning the dough as needed so it does not stick. Roll dough to 1/4-inch thickness.
• Take cookie cutter and dip cutting edge into a shallow bowl of flour. Then press cookie cutter into rolled out dough. Begin cutting out shapes at the center of the dough and work your way towards the edge, cutting shapes as close together as possible. Once the entire slab of dough is cut, use a small spatula to remove cookies from rolling surface and place on un-greased cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining half of dough.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Decorate each cookie by pressing mini candies into dough. Refrigerate cookies for 15 minutes to prevent spreading while baking.
• Using oven mitts, place cookies in oven on top rack. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from oven using mitts and let cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute before moving them to cooling rack.

WORLD'S BEST BUTTER COOKIES

Steps:

• 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.

EASY BUTTER COOKIES I

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.
• Mix together all ingredients until well-blended.
• Roll 2-inch sized pieces of dough into balls and place on cookie sheet. Flatten each with the back of a fork.
• Bake 13 to 15 minutes until light brown. Let cool on wire rack.

BUTTER COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Beat in egg and vanilla. In another bowl, whisk flour, baking powder and salt; gradually beat into creamed mixture., Using a cookie press fitted with a heart disk, press dough 1 in. apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake until set but not brown, 6-8 minutes. Cool on wire racks., For frosting, beat butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla and enough milk to reach a spreading consistency. If desired, tint with food coloring. Decorate cookies as desired.

BUTTER COOKIES

Steps:

• Into a bowl sift together flour, salt, and baking powder. In a large bowl with an electric mixer beat butter until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating until mixture is light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and beat until combined well. Gradually add flour mixture, beating until mixture just forms a dough.
• Divide dough between 2 large sheets of wax paper and form each half into a 10- x 1 1/2-inch log, wrapping it in wax paper. Chill logs until firm, at least 4 hours, and up to 5 days. Dough may be frozen, wrapped in foil, 2 months. Let dough soften slightly before cutting. Preheat oven to 375°F. and lightly butter a baking sheet.
• Cut dough into 1/8-inch-thick slices and arrange slices about 1/2 inch apart on baking sheet. Bake cookies in batches in middle of oven until golden around edges, 10 to 12 minutes, and transfer with a metal spatula to a rack to cool. Cookies may be kept in an airtight container at room temperature 5 days.

MOM'S BUTTERMILK COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. In a separate bowl, whisk flour, baking soda and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk, beating well after each addition. , Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 in. apart onto greased baking sheets. Bake until edges are lightly browned, 10-12 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool. , For frosting, combine butter, confectioners' sugar, milk and vanilla; beat until smooth. Spread over cookies; if desired, sprinkle with chopped walnuts.