Who loves those buttery, sugar coated cookies that come in seasonal tins? I do, I do! I like Danish Butter Cookies so much, that during my first year in college my mom gave me the largest tin I had ever seen. She brought them over to my on campus apartment, and I swear the whole thing was finished by the end of January. There were several hundred cookies, I let my inner glutton take the wheel.

For this recipe I added almond flour into the line up. This gives the dough a little more density, but it makes it harder to pipe. I overcame this problem by twisting my bag shut and kneading the bag to warm it through body warmth. I also find that almond flour browns faster than regular flour due to the oils from the almonds. This gave the cookies more even golden ridges.

I used a whole Madagascar vanilla bean in this recipe, instead of my tried and true vanilla paste. I preferred the taste of the fresh vanilla over that of the paste. To use the vanilla bean pod, I made an incision down the length of the pod. Using the back of my knife, I scraped the inside of the bean to gather the seeds. In my opinion, vanilla is entirely to expensive to only use the pod once. So, I reserved the scraped pod and placed it in a bowl with granulated sugar. Then I shut it air tight, and we will revisit that wonderful bowl of vanilla heaven in a few days. Voila! Vanilla Sugar!

That was a little bonus recipe that makes a big impact. You can use the sugar in a plethora of ways, but one super easy dessert is Caramelized Fruit. Cut the fruit and sprinkle it generously with the sugar and place under the broiler until the sugar caramelizes. Serve it with Chantilly cream and fresh mint. Delicious!!

Vanilla Danish Butter Cookies

1 Egg
1 Egg Yolk
1 Cup Unsalted Butter
1 1/4 Cup Powdered Sugar
2 1/4 Cup All-Purpose Flour
1/4 Cup Almond Flour
1 Vanilla Bean, Scraped

Procedure:

Preheat the oven to 400F
Combine all ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle, mix on low until the dough comes together.

Place the dough in a piping bag fitted with a large star tip. Pipe wreath shapes leaving a 2 inch space between each. Sprinkle with sanding sugar or vanilla sugar before baking.

****Use a tall glass or measuring cup to pull the edges of the piping bag over. Then you can fill it without holding it.

Bake for 10 – 12, until golden brown around the edges and on the ridges.
Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack.

Vanilla Danish Butter Cookies Card