Description
Piped Butter Bow Cookies are charming, pink, buttery shortbread cookies with a slight saltiness. These crisp cookies feature a soft dough that's piped into bow shapes for a visually delightful treat. Perfect for special occasions or a cute snack, this recipe guides you through making the perfect consistency and getting beautiful piped designs.
Ingredients
Scale
Dough Ingredients
- 1 cup butter (very soft but not melted)
- ¾ cup powdered 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
Instructions
- Preheat and Prepare: Preheat your oven to 355°F (180°C) and line cookie sheets with parchment paper to prevent sticking and ensure even baking.
- Soften Butter: Use very soft butter that is easy to press a finger into but not melted, for easier piping consistency.
- Mix Butter and Sugar: In a large bowl or stand mixer with a paddle attachment, combine the softened butter and powdered sugar. Mix just until combined to maintain the right texture.
- Add Flavor and Coloring: Mix in the vanilla extract, sea salt, and pink food coloring until you reach your desired shade. The color will lighten slightly when flour is added.
- Add Flour and Cream: Incorporate the all-purpose flour into the butter mixture and mix until the dough just begins to form. Add the heavy cream and mix until a soft dough forms.
- Prepare the Piping Bag: Transfer half of the dough into a piping bag fitted with a coupler and small open star tip. Using double disposable piping bags is recommended to prevent splitting due to the dough’s stiffness.
- Pipe Shapes: Pipe bow shapes onto the parchment-lined baking sheets. If the dough is difficult to pipe, massage the bag to warm the dough or use a hair dryer to evenly warm it up.
- Freeze Before Baking: Freeze the piped dough on the baking sheet for 10 minutes to set the shapes and prevent spreading during baking.
- Bake: Bake one sheet at a time in the center of the oven for 8 minutes until cookies are slightly golden on the bottom.
- Cool: Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes to firm up before handling.
Notes
- Use very soft butter but avoid melted butter for easy piping and perfect texture.
- Double piping bags help avoid tears when piping stiff dough.
- Adjust the pink food coloring incrementally for preferred color intensity.
- If dough becomes too stiff during piping, gently warm it to soften for smoother piping.
- Chill piped dough before baking to retain shape and reduce spreading.
- Let cookies cool on baking sheets to firm up before moving to prevent breakage.
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
