These Butter Cookies are a classic Christmas Cookie, adding an elegant touch to your holiday cookie tray. Decadent Nutella ganache, adds contrast in both color and texture. With their crisp, buttery exterior and melt-in-your-mouth interior, these cookies are a perfect holiday treat.
You’ll need a large star piping tip, like Ateco #829, to pipe these cookies. Using a smaller tip will make piping much more difficult.
SUMMARY
- A beautiful, elegant cookie that’s perfect for a Christmas cookie tray
- Offers endless customization with different fillings and decorative designs
- Make-ahead friendly—freeze in advance and fill just before the holidays
- Nutella ganache adds richness and a striking contrast in both color and texture
- Ideal for Christmas, Mother’s Day, spring celebrations, or Valentine’s Day
Also known as Danish butter cookies, these classic cookies are one of the simplest to make and are known for their rich, buttery flavor and crisp texture.
Although made with simple ingredients, butter cookies are renowned for their elegant spiral shape, making them a stunning addition to any Christmas cookie tray.
The best part is their versatility—these cookies can easily be customized into any pattern you desire. We've included a variety of design ideas and filling suggestions to inspire your own creative twists.
👩🍳 The key tip to remember is that you'll need a large star tip, specifically the Ateco #828. Using a standard star tip will make it difficult to pipe the cookies properly.
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How to make butter cookies?
You can find full printable recipe below, but here is a quick overview of the procedure along with step-by-step photos.
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👩🍳 Pro tip - You’ll need a large star piping tip, like Ateco #829, to pipe these cookies. Using a smaller tip will make piping much more difficult.
Step 11 - Spoon about 1 teaspoon of Nutella chocolate ganache into each indentation. Gently tap the sheet pan on the counter once or twice to help the ganache settle evenly. Allow the cookies to cool and firm up before serving.
More Holiday Cookies
Butter Cookies with Nutella Ganache
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter (113 gms) at room temperature
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
Nutella ganache
- ¼ cup semi sweet chocolate chips
- ¼ cup Nutella
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream
Instructions
Make Cookies
- Add butter and sugar into a medium bowl and beat using an electric beater until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes.
- Add the egg yolk, vanilla and salt, continue beating until thoroughly combined. Add the flour and beat to combine.
- Check the dough consistency. The dough should be pipeable but not soft—this is key for butter cookies. If it’s too stiff, piping will be difficult; if it’s too soft, the cookies may spread and lose their shape. The texture largely depends on how soft your butter was.If you’re unsure, pipe a small test using a piping bag fitted with a large open star tip. If the dough is hard to pipe, mix in 1–2 teaspoons of milk until it reaches a smooth, pipeable consistency.
- Fit a large piping bag with Ateco #828 piping tip and add the cookie dough into the bag and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Hold the piping bag straight at a 90-degree angle, just above the parchment paper. Apply steady pressure to pipe a circle about 1 ½ inches in diameter, then gently release pressure and lift the bag away to create a clean finish.
- Pipe the remaining dough onto the baking sheet, spacing the cookies about 1 inch apart. Dip a 1-teaspoon measuring spoon in water, shake off the excess, then gently press it into the center of each cookie to create a deep indentation. The dough will spread slightly as you press.👉 Make the indentation deeper than you would for traditional thumbprint cookies.
- Transfer the baking sheet to the fridge for a few hours (or up to overnight) to firm up the dough.
- Preheat oven to 350°F and bake the cookies for 13 to 16 minutes or the edges get a golden color. Place the baking sheet on a wire rack to cool completely.
Nutella ganache
- Place the chocolate chips, Nutella, and heavy cream in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 20-second intervals, for 50 to 80 seconds, stirring well after each, until the mixture is fully melted and smooth.
- Fill the indentations with ganache, bringing it right to the brim. Gently tap the baking sheet on the counter once or twice to help the ganache settle evenly. Let the cookies set for a few hours before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information, based on third-party calculations, should be seen as estimates, not guarantees, as various factors like product types, brands, processing methods, and more can alter the nutritional content in recipes.
Alternatives for Nutella ganache
Skip the Nutella chocolate ganache filling and use any of the following ideas:
- Skip the indentation and instead press a halved candied red or green cherry into the center of the piped butter cookie dough. This creates a festive, holiday-ready look that’s perfect for Christmas cookies.
- Spoon raspberry or strawberry jam into the indentation just before baking to create classic Danish thumbprint butter cookies.
For a nut-free option, skip the Nutella and make chocolate ganache (2 ounces semi sweet chocolate and ¼ cup heavy cream).
Shape ideas
- Flower pattern - Make flowers as given.
- Spiral cookies - Pipe into tight spirals using a large star tip (like Ateco #828), for signature shape for Danish butter cookies.
- Thumbprint cookies - Skip the piping and simply roll the dough into 1 ½-inch balls. Use your thumb to create an indentation in the center, just like we did for the raspberry thumbprint cookies. Chill the dough, bake it, and once cooled, fill the indentation with creamy Nutella chocolate ganache.
- Shape the dough into a log, as we did in the brown sugar shortbread cookies, chill, slice into ¼ inch thick slices and bake.
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