Piped Christmas butter cookies: rosettes that hold their shape in the oven

Tip: tap a step to mark it as done.

1. Beat the butter and sugar

   5 min

   Beat the softened butter with the powdered sugar, vanilla sugar, and a pinch of salt for 3–4 minutes, until pale and fluffy. Add the egg and beat briefly to combine.

2. Fold in the flour

   3 min

   Fold in the sifted flour with a spatula just until combined. The dough should be soft, like a thick cream; overworking it will make it stiff and difficult to pipe.

3. Pipe onto the baking sheet

   20 min

   Transfer the dough to a piping bag fitted with a 10–12 mm star tip. Pipe rosettes, S shapes, and short strips onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving 2 cm between them. Refrigerate the baking sheet for 15 minutes so the cold dough holds its defined pattern in the oven.

4. Bake

   12 min

   Bake in an oven preheated to 180 °C (350 °F) for 10–12 minutes, until the edges are lightly golden and the centers remain pale. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet; they break easily while warm.

5. Dip in chocolate

   15 min

   Melt the chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of hot water. Dip half of each cooled cookie into the chocolate, then place on parchment paper until the chocolate sets.

Tip: If the dough is stiff and the piping bag starts to split, warm it briefly between your palms or stir in a tablespoon of milk. A tip with larger teeth makes a more pronounced pattern.

This recipe was translated from the Slovak original: Krehké striekané maslové pečivo: vianočné ružičky z vrecúška, ktoré si v rúre udržia vzor