Description
Piped Butter Bow Cookies are charming, buttery shortbread treats with a delicate pink hue. These crisp cookies are slightly salty with a melt-in-your-mouth texture, piped into elegant bow shapes. Perfect for festive occasions or afternoon tea, this recipe takes you through detailed steps to achieve flawless piped cookies with a rich buttery flavor and a tender crumb.
Ingredients
Scale
Main Ingredients
- 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 the Oven: Preheat your oven to 355°F (180°C) and line cookie sheets with parchment paper to prepare for baking.
- Prepare the Butter: Use very soft butter that is easy to press a finger into but not melted. Softer butter makes piping easier.
- Mix Butter and Sugar: In a large bowl or stand mixer with paddle attachment, beat the softened butter and powdered sugar together until just combined.
- Add Flavor and Color: Mix in vanilla extract, sea salt, and pink food coloring. Add enough coloring to obtain your desired shade; it will lighten slightly once flour is added.
- Incorporate Flour and Cream: Gradually add the flour to the butter mixture and mix until dough begins to form. Then add the heavy whipping cream or milk and mix just until you have a soft dough.
- Prepare Piping Bag: Transfer half of the dough into a piping bag fitted with a coupler and small, open star piping tip. Using double disposable piping bags helps prevent breakage as the dough is stiff and tough to pipe.
- Pipe the Cookies: Pipe bow shapes onto the prepared parchment lined baking sheet. If dough is hard to pipe, warm it by massaging in the bag or using a hair dryer for even heat.
- Freeze Before Baking: Freeze the piped dough on the baking sheet for 10 minutes to help retain shape while baking.
- Bake: Bake one sheet at a time in the center of the oven for 8 minutes until the bottoms are slightly golden.
- Cool the Cookies: Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before handling so they firm up and maintain their shape.
Notes
- The dough consistency is key to perfect piping. Softer butter and brief warming help shape delicate bows without breakage.
- Freezing the piped dough before baking keeps the cookie shapes sharp and defined.
- You can experiment with other piping designs or colors for different occasions.
- If you don’t have heavy cream, whole milk can be used as a substitute to achieve a soft dough.
- Use a double disposable piping bag or double bag to avoid the bag bursting because the dough is stiff.
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
