High altitude Danish butter cookies are classic piped shortbread cookies, flavored with vanilla bean. These traditional Danish cookies are delicate and crumbly, with a tender, melt in your mouth texture.
You might also love these recipes for ebelskivers (Danish pancake balls), rødgrød med fløde (Danish red berry pudding), and almond pound cake.
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What are Danish Butter Cookies?
Danish butter cookies, also known as Danish biscuits, Royal Dansk cookies, or just the cookies in the blue tin, are a type of shortbread. Instead of rolling out the dough and cutting it with cookie cutters, the dough is piped through a large piping tip to create various swirls and shapes. Although you could also use a cookie press, instead of a piping bag.
With a high proportion of good quality European butter, their texture is very delicate and tender, and their flavor is, well, very buttery. There’s also plenty of vanilla and a good pinch of salt to complement the butter. These cookies are a popular addition to Christmas cookie boxes, but they’re honestly good any time of year.
I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at a lower or higher elevation, please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for your altitude.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
- Butter. You need to use unsalted European butter for the best results. European butter has a higher percentage of butterfat (and less water) for a richer flavor.
- Sugar. You’ll need powdered sugar for the cookie dough, and some granulated sugar for sprinkling over the baked cookies.
- Egg Yolks. Instead of using a whole egg, you’ll need two egg yolks. These add moisture and a rich flavor.
- Vanilla. Both vanilla extract and vanilla bean paste add delicious flavor, as well as more moisture to the dough.
- Salt. Flavor.
- Coconut Oil. The coconut oil will add a little moisture, but also subtle flavor, comparable to the flavor of store bought Royal Dansk cookies.
- Flour. All purpose flour adds structure and strength, and keeps the dough from spreading too much.
- Milk. Adds moisture to the dough.
Tools and Equipment
- Piping Bag + Tip. A 16-inch piping bag (either disposable or reusable) works well for this project. You’ll also need a large open star tip. Tip 1M works, but I prefer tip 8B. You absolutely cannot expect to be able to pipe the dough through a small piping tip.
- Stand Mixer with Paddle Attachment. Necessary for beating the butter and sugar and mixing the dough.
Instructions
Cookie Dough
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and powdered sugar for 10 minutes on medium speed, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl 2-3 times.
- Add the egg yolks, vanilla, salt and melted coconut oil, and mix for 1 minute, until smooth.
- With the mixer on low, gradually add the flour, mixing on low just until combined. If the dough seems at all dry or crumbly, add the milk, 1/2 tbsp at a time, until the dough smooths out.
Piping the Dough
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Fit a disposable 16-inch piping bag with a large open star tip. I used tips 8B and 1M, and preferred the appearance of the cookies piped with tip 8B.
- Scoop half the dough into the piping bag, filling it no more than half full. A full piping bag is much more difficult to manage than one that’s only half full, so it’s best to refill it as needed.
- Pipe the dough onto the baking sheets, by piping a swirl, starting at the center, and swirling towards the outer edge and then tapering off, just like you’d pipe a buttercream rosette. Pipe each cookie about two inches in diameter, and leave two inches in between each.
- Place the pans in the refrigerator to chill the piped cookies for 45 minutes. This will help to firm up the butter so the cookies hold their shape and don’t spread too much in the oven.
Baking the Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven.
- Bake the cookies one pan at a time, keeping the other pan refrigerated until needed.
- Bake for about 12-17 minutes, until the cookies have slightly spread and they are light golden brown in color.
- Cool on the baking sheet for several minutes, then gently transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. These cookies are extremely delicate, so handle them with care.
- Decorate the cooled cookies with sanding sugar or granulated sugar.
Recipe Variations
Chocolate Dipped. Melt some of your favorite chocolate (dark, semi sweet or milk) and dip the bottoms or one half of the cookies in the chocolate. Let the chocolate harden again before storing the cookies.
Christmas Sprinkles. For Christmas cookies, these Danish butter cookies look beautiful sprinkled with red and green sanding sugar after baking. If using sprinkles like nonpareils, you’ll need to scatter those over the dough before baking the cookies.
Flavored Cookies. Besides vanilla, you could add a little almond extract, or something brighter like lemon or orange. You can add fresh lemon zest or orange zest, too. Or try some spices, like a pinch of ground cardamom or nutmeg.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!
Frequently Asked Questions
Store leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 3-6 months.
You can leave out the coconut oil, although you may need to add a little more milk, if the dough is too dry.
I highly recommend it. European butter has a higher percentage of butterfat with less water, so not only is the flavor superior, your cookies will spread less as they bake. I only bake with unsalted butter, so I can control the salt in my recipes, so if your butter is salted, you’ll need to reduce the added salt.
These cookies are not very sweet, as too much sugar at high altitude will result in cookies that brown and spread too much, and this is a cookie that you want to hold its piped shape. You may be able to increase the powdered sugar from 1/3 to 1/2 cup, but I don’t suggest adding any more sugar than that. Since it’s not a sweet cookie, I’ve added plenty of vanilla (which adds flavor and helps to moisten the dough) as well as salt.
Danish cookies will spread a little when they bake, but they shouldn’t spread excessively. If yours spread all over the baking sheet, then you either added too much sugar or liquid, or too little flour.
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High Altitude Danish Butter Cookies
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- 16-inch Disposable Piping Bag plus a large open star piping tip (preferably tip 8B)
- Stand Mixer with Paddle Attachment
Ingredients
- 8 oz unsalted European butter (such as Kerrygold), softened to room temperature
- â…“ cup powdered sugar
- 2 large egg yolks
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)
- ¾ tsp (scant) coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 1 tbsp coconut oil, melted
- 2 cups (9 oz) all-purpose flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
- 1-2 tbsp whole milk
- granulated sugar or sanding sugar, for decorating
Instructions
Cookie Dough
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and powdered sugar for 10 minutes on medium speed, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl 2-3 times.
- Add the egg yolks, vanilla, salt and melted coconut oil, and mix for 1 minute, until smooth.
- With the mixer on low, gradually add the flour, mixing on low just until combined. If the dough seems at all dry or crumbly, add the milk, 1/2 tbsp at a time, until the dough smooths out.
Piping the Dough
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Fit a disposable 16-inch piping bag with a large open star tip. I used tips 8B and 1M, and preferred the appearance of the cookies piped with tip 8B.
- Scoop half the dough into the piping bag, filling it no more than half full. A full piping bag is much more difficult to manage than one that's only half full, so it's best to refill it as needed.
- Pipe the dough onto the baking sheets, by piping a swirl, starting at the center, and swirling towards the outer edge and then tapering off, just like you'd pipe a buttercream rosette. Pipe each cookie about two inches in diameter, and leave two inches in between each.
- Place the pans in the refrigerator to chill the piped cookies for 45 minutes. This will help to firm up the butter so the cookies hold their shape and don't spread too much in the oven.
Baking the Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven.
- Bake the cookies one pan at a time, keeping the other pan refrigerated until needed.
- Bake for about 12-17 minutes, until the cookies have slightly spread and they are light golden brown in color.
- Cool on the baking sheet for several minutes, then gently transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. These cookies are extremely delicate, so handle them with care.
- Decorate the cooled cookies with sanding sugar or granulated sugar.
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