Italian Butter Cookies by Monday Night Baking

 Classic Italian butter cookies

Ingredients

For the cookie dough 

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• ⅔ cup granulated sugar
• 2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ tsp baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• 2–3 tbsp whole milk, if needed for piping 

For optional decorations 

• Melted semi-sweet or white chocolate
• Seedless raspberry or apricot jam
• Rainbow sprinkles
• Candied cherries
• Chopped nuts (pistachios, almonds)

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the softened butter and granulated sugar together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 to 4 minutes.
3. Add the egg yolks and vanilla extract to the creamed butter mixture and continue mixing until just combined.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, mixing on low speed until the dough comes together. If the dough is too stiff to pipe, add milk one tablespoon at a time until it reaches a thick, pipeable consistency.
5. Transfer the dough to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip. Pipe the dough onto the prepared baking sheets in various shapes, such as rosettes, S-shapes, or strips.
6. If using candied cherries, press a half-cherry into the center of the rosette cookies before baking.
7. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies are lightly golden. The cookies will be pale in the center.
8. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Decorating ideas

Once the cookies are completely cool, you can decorate them in several ways: 

• Chocolate-dipped: Dip half of a cooled cookie into melted semi-sweet or white chocolate. Immediately add sprinkles or chopped nuts before the chocolate sets.
• Sandwich cookies: Spread a small amount of raspberry or apricot jam on the flat side of one cookie and top it with another cookie. For a bakery-style touch, dip half of the assembled sandwich in melted chocolate.
• Ganache-filled: For a richer sandwich cookie, use a thick chocolate ganache instead of jam.
• Powdered sugar: Keep it simple by dusting cooled, plain cookies with a sprinkle of powdered sugar.