butter cookie stack with icing sugar recipe

Four ingredient All Butter Cookies recipe

Try this four ingredient all butter cookies recipe (butter biscuits)

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Some of the best meals and treats are those which only involve a handful of ingredients. Keep them simple, you’re more likely to make them over and over again.  Especially if the ingredients needed are those in the store cupboard or regularly found in the fridge.

I’ve a few 3 or 4 ingredient cookbooks* and I have several favourite recipes in these. They can often be relied on to find a quick and easy meal or treat.  

butter cookie stack with icing sugar recipe

During lockdown, like so many others, I’ve been doing some baking. They get through so much cake or treats, that I thought baking some biscuits would keep them going for a while. I had in basic ingredients so decided that the simple 4 ingredient all butter cookies would be worth cooking.

Apart from the few ingredients needed, these cookies are just delicious. Everyone who’s eaten them (apart from the OH who bizarrely doesn’t like them) really liked them,and N just keeps going back for more.  

4 butter cookies in pile

With just unsalted butter, icing sugar (seems bizarre using that and not caster sugar), plain flour and vanilla extract, they’re cheap to make as well. I’ve made them to take into work for birthday treats before, and they always went down well.

The recipe makes a huge batch, and as you chill the dough before using, you can even bake a batch at a time rather than having them all disappear from the biscuit tin at once time. They will last around 4-5 days in an airtight container, if they last that long.

all butter biscuits on wire cooling rack
uneven stack of butter cookies

We made our last lot in 2 batches in the aga, so the temperature and timing is a little random, hence our first batch were really pale, and the second batch were a little overdone. If you’re using a normal oven, you’ll likely be able to see in and smell when they’re ready. But they tasted great both ways, and both still had the great snap when breaking the biscuit. 

falling icing sugar onto cookies

How to make 4 ingredient all butter cookies

Four ingredient all butter cookies recipe

Rich vanilla biscuit made from store cupboard ingredients

Course Snack
Keyword biscuits, cookies
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Chilling time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings 30

Ingredients

  • 275 g plain flour 2 1/2 cups (all purpose)`
  • 90 g icing sugar 1 cup (confectioner's sugar)
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 200 g unsalted butter 1 cup

Instructions

  1. If using a food processor, put the flour and butter in and pulse until the mix looks like breadcrumbs.

  2. If by hand,put the flour in a large bowl, grate in (or just cut into cubes) the cold butter, and rub between your fingers to make it a breadcrumb texture.

  3. Add icing sugar and vanilla and mix until it comes together into a dough

  4. Knead it lightly and shape it into a long sausage shape about 5cm diameter

  5. Wrap in cling film and chill for at least 1 hour in the fridge

  6. Preheat oven to 200C / GM 6. Grease baking sheets (one large one will take half the batch)

  7. Remove the cling film and cut the dough into rounds, about 0.5 cm wide. Put on the baking sheet a little apart – they’ll spread a little

  8. Bake for 8-10 minutes. You might need to switch round the trays half way to ensure an even bake/colour. Bake until they’re cooked and just a light golden brown around the edges.

  9. Leave on the tray until a little cooler and more solid, then transfer to a wire rack to cool fully

  10. Serve as they are or dusted with icing sugar.

Recipe Notes

My first batch were in for longer and stayed pale, so don’t panic if they don’t brown. You don’t want them going too far

If you liked this recipe, you might like these

flapjack
chocolate tiffin
bowling ball iced biscuits
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