Easter Butter Cookies
| Christy Rost
- 2 cups flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, and salt; set it aside. In the large bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 8 minutes. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and beat well.
Gradually stir flour mixture into the creamed mixture with a large spoon until the ingredients are thoroughly combined. If the dough appears dry, stir in 2 teaspoons of water. Flour hands, form teaspoons of dough into small balls, and place them on ungreased cookie sheets. Dip a finger into the flour and press in the center of each cookie to form an indentation. Cookies will spread during baking.
Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until bottom edges are barely brown. Cool 1 minute, then transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Pipe a swirl of buttercream frosting into the center of each.
Yield: 3 dozen 2-inch cookies
Buttercream Frosting
- 2 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 2 ½ cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
- Dash of salt
- 2 to 3 tablespoons milk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- Assorted food dyes
In the large bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter with 1 cup confectioners’ sugar, salt , and 1 tablespoon of milk until smooth. Gradually add remaining confectioners’ sugar and milk to form a smooth, somewhat stiff frosting. Divide the frosting into small bowls, tint each as desired, and transfer to piping bags fitted with star tips. Pipe a generous swirl of frosting into the center of each cookie and set them aside until the frosting hardens. Store cookies up to 5 days in an airtight container with parchment paper between each layer.