Description
Delight in these charming Piped Butter Bow Cookies, featuring a tender, buttery, and slightly salty shortbread texture. The pink, piped bow shapes make them perfect for special occasions or tea time. Made with simple ingredients and expert tips for perfect piping, these cookies are irresistibly crisp and flavorful.
Ingredients
Scale
Cookie Dough
- 1 cup butter (very soft but not melted)
- ¾ cup powdered sugar (or icing sugar)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- pink food coloring (as needed)
- 2 ½ cups all purpose flour (300g)
- 3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream (or milk)
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Preheat the oven to 355°F (180°C) and line cookie sheets with parchment paper to prepare for baking.
- Prepare Butter: Use very soft butter, soft enough to press your finger in easily but not melted into a liquid. Softer butter will make piping easier.
- Mix Butter and Sugar: In a large bowl or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the very soft butter and powdered sugar. Mix with an electric mixer just until combined.
- Add Flavor and Color: Add vanilla extract, sea salt, and pink food coloring to the butter mixture. Mix well and add enough food coloring to achieve your desired pink shade; it will lighten slightly after adding flour.
- Incorporate Flour and Cream: Gradually add the all-purpose flour into the butter mixture and mix until the dough begins to come together. Add the heavy whipping cream and mix just until a soft dough forms.
- Transfer to Piping Bag: Immediately place half of the dough into a piping bag fitted with a coupler and a small, open star piping tip. Using two disposable piping bags, one inside the other, is recommended to prevent breaking, as the dough is stiff and difficult to pipe.
- Pipe Cookie Shapes: Pipe bow shapes onto the parchment-lined baking sheet. If the dough is hard to pipe, gently massage the piping bag to warm the dough or use a hair dryer to evenly heat it slightly.
- Freeze Before Baking: Freeze the piped dough for 10 minutes to help maintain the shape during baking.
- Bake Cookies: Bake one baking sheet at a time in the center of the oven for 8 minutes or until the bottoms are slightly golden.
- Cool Cookies: Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for several minutes before handling, as they firm up as they cool.
Notes
- Ensure the butter is very soft but not melted for easy piping and best texture.
- Use a double piping bag setup with a coupler to prevent breakage while piping the stiff dough.
- If the dough is too stiff to pipe, warming it slightly by hand or with a hair dryer helps achieve smooth piping.
- Freezing the piped dough before baking helps retain the beautiful bow shape during baking.
- These cookies make adorable, buttery, and slightly salty shortbread treats perfect for gifts or parties.
- Feel free to pipe other shapes if bows are not preferred.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 82 kcal
- Sugar: 2 g
- Sodium: 66 mg
- Fat: 5 g
- Saturated Fat: 3 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 1.2 g
- Trans Fat: 0.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 8 g
- Fiber: 0.2 g
- Protein: 1 g
- Cholesterol: 13 mg
