French Butter Cookies

If you want a delicious butter cookie, perfect for dunking in your hot tea or coffee, this is the recipe for you! These delicious French Butter Cookies are simple to make and come together in minutes! 

Full Disclosure: I found this recipe while scrolling Pinterest. I followed a link to The Gardening Foodie site, where I found gorgeous pictures (much prettier than mine) of these cookies. I knew the moment I saw them that I would have to give them a try. 

I don’t know about you but I absolutely love Danish butter cookies. I am on of those people who celebrates when someone hands her a full tin of them at Christmas-time. 

Are they sugar cookies? 

Are they shortbread? 

No. They’re really, truly butter cookies. The ratio of butter to the other ingredients is what sets these cookies apart from traditional shortbread. 

Ingredients

You will find a full printable recipe card at the bottom of this post but here’s a quick peek at what you will need.

• ½ cup room temperature butter (salted or unsalted, your choice)
• ½ cup confectioner’s sugar (sifted)
• 1 room temperature egg yolk
• ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup granulated sugar (to coat edges of cookie)

How to Make French Butter Cookies

In a mixing bowl or bowl of a stand mixer, cream the room temperature butter. 

Add powdered sugar, egg yolk, and vanilla. Mix well. Add flour and beat until it comes together.

Work dough into a log. (Mine was about 8 inches long.) 

Roll in parchment paper and place in freezer for 45 minutes. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Place parchment paper on a large cookie sheet. 

Remove dough from freezer and unroll. 

Cut into slices about ½” thick (or slightly thicker, your preference)

Roll the edges in granulated sugar. 

Place on parchment lined baking sheet. 

Place in prepared oven. 

Bake for 17 minutes or until set. 

Remove and cool. 

Serve and enjoy! 

Store leftovers in airtight container at room temperature. They should stay fresh for 4-5 days. You can freeze this dough for later use.

What to Expect from this Recipe

Y’all, you know I make a lot of cookies. A lot, lot, lot of cookies. And I love many of them. But this one has immediately sailed to the top ten list. I happened to be drinking a cup of sleepy time tea when these came out of the oven so I thought, “Oooh, dunk ‘em!” They seemed to perfect consistency for that. And boy, were they ever!

This is truly the best dunkable cookie to date. And the light buttery taste lends itself well to whatever you’re drinking, whether it’s tea, coffee, cider, or hot chocolate. I confess, I ate way too many of these. And the next morning I ate even more for breakfast. They were terrific warm, tasty at room temperature, and easy to re-warm for a few seconds in the microwave. The texture is just perfect—almost shortbread-like, and that butter shines through like the star it is. Like I said, these are now high on my go-to cookie list. I can’t wait to hear your thoughts, as well! 

Other Easy Cookies from Out of the Box Baking

We have so many simple and delicious cookies. Here are a few fan favorites: 

• Dolly Parton Coconut Cookies with Lemon Glaze
• Mexican Wedding Cookies (Snowballs)
• 4-ingredient maple shortbread
• Lemon Shortbread Cookies
• Old-Fashioned Sugar Cookies

That’s it for this post, friends! I hope you enjoyed this delicious recipe. 

If you make this recipe and love it, don’t forget to leave a review and a comment below. And while you're at it, go ahead and pin some photos to your Pinterest boards!

See this recipe at  

Full Plate Thursday 

Weekend Potluck

About the Author

Janice Thompson is an author, baker, and all-around mischief maker! She has overcome a host of baking catastrophes, including a toppled wedding cake, to learn more about the baking process. Janice has published over 165 books for the Christian market but particularly enjoys writing recipes and baking devotions. To learn more about Janice or to drop her a note, visit her About the Author page.