5 tips for making butter cookies for the first time

Butter cookies generally have a simple recipe, and they only require a few easy-to-find ingredients to make, making them a great option when you want to venture into the world of baking cookies for the first time.But doing something for the first time can bring many doubts, from what type of ingredients to use, to more complex things like the time and temperature the cookies should spend in the oven.At Kiwilimón, butter cookies are also one of the most popular recipes, so we asked one of the chefs behind these recipes for some tips to ensure they turn out delicious from the very first try.Main Ingredients to Make Butter CookiesIn any recipe, the quality of the ingredients is always paramount, but especially when making cookies, the key is to always use the best quality ingredients, as they will result in a better cookie, and for instance, you'll have homemade pastries that are tastier. To make butter cookies, you generally need only 6 basic ingredients:butter sugareggvanilla extractflour baking powderThe temperature of the butter Since butter is our star ingredient, the tips start with it. Butter makes the cookie dough richer, fluffier, and with texture; it also results in the melt-in-your-mouth crumb that we all know and love. To achieve this texture, use pure butter, with nothing added and no sunflower or vegetable oils or emulsifiers, as these reduce the optimal result. You can also use unsalted butter if you want to control the salt level. Kiwilimón chef Mayte Rueda recommends always starting with softened, room temperature butter, as this will make the first step of creaming it with the sugar easier and more effective.Beat the butter and sugar Beating the butter and sugar, or creaming them, is the process of beating the softened butter, meaning at room temperature, and the sugar until they are soft and fluffy. This step is essential for the quality of the dough you will make, because if you don't cream for long enough, the butter may not break down sufficiently, resulting in large, almost translucent butter spots in the baked cookies. Chef Mayte says you can do this with a mixer, with a whisk, or even by hand, and she recommends adding the egg after you have creamed the butter with the sugar.Do not overwork the dough Once the butter and sugar are creamed, add the flour, and at this step, chef Mayte warns that the dough should not be overworked: “When you add the flour, it contains gluten, which is activated by moisture and mechanical work, creating elasticity. But if you overwork the dough, that is, if you knead it too much, your dough will become too elastic and tough. When you add the flour and baking powder, just fold it in, make sure they are well mixed, and that's it.”Chill the dough When the dough is ready, chill it to be able to form the cookies; this will also allow you to handle the dough better. “Do it as quickly as you can, so it doesn't get soggy,” recommends chef Mayte Rueda. As an extra tip, “you can put them in the freezer for about 10 minutes before baking (once they are cut), so they will keep their shape nicer.”Know when they are ready When you finally put your cookies in the oven, don't lose sight of the timer and always bake until they color around the edges, but not in the middle. “When they are ready, a golden color will form on the surface and especially on the edges. Don't wait for them to be hard inside the oven. The cookies will look very soft or undercooked, but when they cool, their consistency hardens,” concludes chef Mayte.