Description
Piped Butter Bow Cookies are cute, pink, buttery, and delicious shortbread cookies with a slightly salty flavor. These cookies have a crisp texture and a beautiful piped bow shape, perfect for special occasions or gifting. The dough is easy to prepare and pipe, with helpful tips to ensure perfect consistency and shape every time.
Ingredients
Scale
Cookies
- 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). Line cookie sheets with parchment paper to prevent sticking.
- Prepare Butter: Start off with very soft butter that is easy to press a finger into but not melted liquid. Softer butter will make piping easier.
- Mix Butter and Sugar: In a large bowl or stand mixer with a paddle attachment, combine the very soft butter and powdered sugar. Use an electric mixer and mix just until combined.
- Add Flavor and Color: Add vanilla extract, sea salt, and pink food coloring. Mix well, adding pink food coloring gradually until you reach your desired shade. The color will lighten slightly when flour is added.
- Incorporate Flour and Cream: Add the all-purpose flour into the butter mixture and mix until it starts to come together. Then add the heavy whipping cream (or milk) and mix just until the dough forms a soft consistency.
- Prepare Piping Bag: Transfer half of the dough immediately to a piping bag fitted with a coupler and a small, open star piping tip. Use two disposable piping bags, one inserted into the other, to prevent the bag from popping or breaking since the dough is stiff.
- Pipe Cookie Shapes: Pipe bow shapes onto the parchment-lined baking sheet. If piping is difficult, warm the dough slightly by massaging the piping bag or using a hair dryer to evenly heat the dough for easier piping.
- Freeze Before Baking: Freeze the piped dough for 10 minutes. This helps maintain the shape during baking.
- Bake Cookies: Bake one sheet at a time in the center of the oven for 8 minutes, or until the dough is slightly golden on the bottom.
- Cool Cookies: Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for at least a few minutes before handling to allow them to firm up.
Notes
- Use very soft butter for easier piping but avoid melting it to liquid.
- Double piping bags with a coupler help prevent breakage when piping stiff dough.
- If piping is difficult, gently warm dough inside the piping bag by hand or with a hair dryer for smoother piping.
- Freezing the shaped cookies before baking helps them hold their shape.
- These cookies are crisp, buttery, slightly salty, and best enjoyed fresh.
- You can customize the color by adjusting the amount of pink food coloring.
- The recipe has been tested multiple times for successful piping consistency and delicious results.
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
