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You know what my favorite thing about butter cookies is? The fact that they are not tied to any one season. They're ideal for enjoying year round. With minimal and basic ingredients needed, this butter cookies recipe without eggs is bound to become your new favorite!
The rich butter flavor melts in your mouth and quickly has your taste buds and hand reaching for another one! Once my family and I had that first bite, they quickly become a favorite treat in our household.
The texture of this classic cookie reminds me of shortbread cookies and Danish butter cookies. Although, both of those are delicious, most of the time they contain eggs. My butter cookies recipe without eggs is perfect for those with an egg allergy or those who are trying to cut out eggs from their diet, completely.
This classic recipe is fairly simple even if it's your first time making homemade cookies. If you use a 2 inch cookie cutter like I did, you will yield a whopping 48 cookies!
Simple ingredients
Below, are the ingredients you'll want to have on hand before you start. My goal when selecting these ingredients was to keep it to a minimal amount and keep this recipe egg-free.
Dry ingredients
- All purpose flour
- White sugar
Wet ingredients
- Unsalted butter
- Vanilla extract
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Follow these simple steps and you'll be enjoying these eggless butter cookies with a glass of milk in no time!
In a large bowl, use your electric mixer to beat sugar and butter for 3-4 minutes. You'll want it to have an airy, soft texture.
Add in vanilla extract and combine well with your mixer.
Add in your flour, ½ cup at a time. Combine with mixer each time.
This is what your dough should look like after combining everything together.
Scroll down to detailed cookie dough instructions below to see more process shots. Right below that, you will find process shots for rolling out the dough and making the cookie cutouts. There, you will also find a helpful tip for easily removing cookies from your floured surface and onto a baking sheet.
Hint: leave butter out at room temperature for at least an hour before you plan on baking. This will ensure that you have perfectly softened butter to work with.
Below is a substitution you can consider when making this butter cookies recipe without eggs
Cookie dough: detailed instructions for making your cookie dough
When making your dough, you'll want to use softened butter. In a large mixing bowl, use your electric mixer to beat sugar and butter for 3-4 minutes. You'll want it to have an airy, soft texture. Once that is done, add in the vanilla extract. You can also use vanilla beans if you'd like to add in the scrapings to get that speckled look along with added vanilla flavor.
Next, add in your flour, ½ cup at a time. Combine well with your mixer. After that, you'll notice that your dough has a crumbly texture. Use a spatula, wooden spoon or hands to form a ball and then flatten into a disk. Mine was about an inch thick. Wrap disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour. Let cookie dough thaw out for 30 minutes before trying to roll out with a rolling pin.
Making the cookies: Detailed Instructions
Add flour to the surface that you're going to roll the dough out on. Add a bit of flour onto rolling pin as well. I put down wax paper on the surface that I was using along with the flour but that's completely optional. Roll dough out until it is just slightly over half a centimeter thick.
Use any cookie cutter that you like. I used a 2 inch wide, circular one. I found it easier to remove the dough cutouts by sliding a thin, metal icing spatula underneath them and lifting them off the surface. I'll include a picture of that down below.
Place cookies onto your baking tray that has been lined with parchment paper. These cookies will not spread so it's fine to place them close together. This next step is optional: sprinkle a bit of turbinado sugar onto each cookie before placing cookie sheet into a preheated oven. The turbinado sugar adds a fun detail and a little bit of crunch. If you don't have any turbinado sugar, you can sprinkle them with a bit of powdered sugar after you bake them. Bake for 12 minutes at 350°F. I recommend baking one sheet at a time. I was able to fit 24 cookies on each sheet. You can bake them for a few more minutes if you'd like them to be more golden brown and crispy.
Tip: Your cookie dough will be much easier to work with if you refrigerate it for at least one hour. If you skip this step, your dough may be too sticky and your cookies will spread too much.
Equipment
- Hand mixer or stand mixer
- Cooling rack or wire rack
- Cookie trays
- Measuring cup
- Cookie cutters
- Rolling pin
- Icing spatula
Substitutions
- Vanilla extract - instead of ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract, you can use ½ teaspoon of almond extract if you prefer that. Either extract pairs deliciously with these eggless cookies.
Storage Tips
Store eggless cookies in a ziploc bag or airtight container. These will keep well for 5 days.
Top tip
Be sure to flour your surface before rolling out your dough. This will ensure that your dough doesn't stick to the surface making it easier to lift your cookie cutouts.
FAQ
Why does butter cookie dough need to be chilled?
Your cookie dough will be much easier to work with if you refrigerate it for at least one hour. If you skip this step, your dough may be too sticky and your cookies will spread when baking.
Looking for other easy cookie recipes like this? Try these:
- World's Best Coffee Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe
- How to Make the Very Best Vegan Cowboy Cookies
- The Lemon Lavender Cookies Recipe (Gluten Free)
- Do You Enjoy Taro Milk Tea? Then These Taro Shortbread Cookies are For You!
Pairing
These are my favorite dishes to serve with [this recipe]:
- How to Make this Easy and Healthy Matcha Latte Recipe
Food safety
Avoid eating raw cookie dough.
Looking for other eggless recipes? Be sure to check out our ube macaroons, best eggless chocolate chip cookies and our vegan bread pudding!
If you enjoyed this delicious cookie recipe, please leave a 5-star rating and comment below 🙂
Butter Cookies without Eggs
Author: Melissa Bravo-Almazan
With a rich buttery flavor that melts in your mouth and minimal ingredients needed, this butter cookie recipe is bound to become your new favorite!
5 from 2 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes mins
Cook Time 12 minutes mins
Chilling time 1 hour hr
Total Time 1 hour hr 32 minutes mins
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 48 cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup butter, unsalted
- ¾ cups granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
In a large mixing bowl, use your electric mixer to beat sugar and butter for 3-4 minutes. You'll want it to have an airy, soft texture. Add in vanilla extract and combine well with mixer.
Add in your flour, ½ cup at a time. Your dough should now have a crumbly texture. Use a spatula, wooden spoon or hands to form a ball and then flatten into a disk. Wrap disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour. Let cookie dough thaw out at room temperature for 30 minutes before trying to roll out with a rolling pin.
Add flour to the surface that you're going to roll the dough out on. Add a bit of flour onto rolling pin as well. Roll dough out until it is just slightly over half a centimeter thick.
If possible, use a 2 inch wide, circular cookie cutter. Place cookies onto baking sheet that has been lined with parchment paper. These cookies will not spread so it's fine to place them close together. Sprinkle a bit of turbinado sugar onto each cookie before placing them in the oven. Place sheet on the bottom rack.
Bake for 12 minutes at 350°F. Bake one sheet at a time. I was able to fit 24 cookies on each sheet. You can bake them for a few more minutes if you'd like them to be more golden and crispy. After removing sheet from the oven, allow cookies to cool on sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Keyword butter cookies, cookies
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