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An incredibly versatile dough recipe for melt-in-your-mouth butter cookies. Easy to customize with endless variations like chocolate, raisins, or sea salt without rolling or cutting shapes.
Mel & Magi

Butter Cookies

Versatile Cookie Dough:
Today I spent a lovely afternoon in the kitchen testing this incredibly versatile cookie dough. It is the absolute perfect solution when you want a sweet treat without the hassle of rolling out dough and cutting shapes.
Four Delicious Variations:
I ended up making two batches and created four different variations: light with raisins, light with chocolate, cocoa with almonds, and my absolute favorite—cocoa with coarse sea salt! 🤎
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Servings: 40 pieces
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: International
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Basic Dough:
  • 290 g plain flour
  • 125 g cold butter cut into cubes
  • 100 g sugar
  • 1 egg
  • A pinch of salt
Fillings & Variations:
  • 120 g of your favorite fillings nuts, raisins, or chocolate – finely chopped
  • Optional 20 g cocoa powder for the dark version

Method
 

  1. Mixing the Dough: Combine the plain flour, cold butter (cut into cubes), sugar, egg, and salt. Mix until the dough just comes together. If you are making the dark version, add the 20g of cocoa powder at this stage.
  2. Adding the Fillings: Gently fold in your 120g of finely chopped mix-ins.
  3. Shaping: Divide the dough into two equal pieces and roll each one into a firm log shape.
  4. Chilling: Wrap the logs tightly in cling film. Place them in the fridge to set for a minimum of 4 hours, or pop them in the freezer for 1 hour if you are short on time.
  5. Slicing: Once the dough is completely firm, use a sharp knife to cut the logs into even, 0.5 cm thick rounds.
  6. Baking: Place the cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake in a preheated oven at 160 °C (fan/convection setting) for about 14 -17 minutes.
  7. Cooling: Let them cool on a wire rack to crisp up perfectly.

Notes

  • Endless Adaptability: The best part about this recipe is how adaptable it is. You can easily switch things up by adding lemon zest, cinnamon, or even dried lavender to the basic dough. ✨
  • The Chemistry of Chilling Dough ❄️: You might wonder why we need to chill the dough logs for at least 4 hours before baking. It’s not just to make them easier to slice! Resting the dough allows the flour to fully hydrate and absorb the moisture from the egg and butter. More importantly, it solidifies the butter. When cold butter hits the hot oven, it prevents the cookies from spreading into flat puddles, ensuring they keep their beautiful round shape and develop that perfectly crisp edge.