Foolproof Butter Cookies

👨‍🍳 Method

To assemble

1. 1
   Preheat the oven to 180°C (355°F) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

   ⚙ Preheating the OvenOven

   💡Put things in the oven only once it's reached temperature, after the heating light has gone off: an oven that hasn't reached temperature changes baking times, and the bake burns outside or stays underbaked.
2. 2
   Whip the soft butter with the powdered sugar, to a smooth, pale mixture.

   ⚙ WhippingBowlHand mixerorStand mixerorWhisk

   💡Cream the butter soft, at room temperature: cold butter doesn't take in air, and melted butter doesn't hold it.
3. 3
   Add the yolks and vanilla and mix well.
4. 4
   Add the flour, salt and milk and mix just until a dough forms.

   💡Mix in the flour only until a dough forms: long kneading develops gluten, and the cookies come out hard instead of crumbly.
5. 5
   Transfer the dough to a piping bag with a star tip and pipe cookies onto the baking sheet, spaced apart.

   Piping bagPiping tipsBaking pan
6. 6
   Bake 12–14 minutes, until the edges are golden.

   ⚙ BakingOvenBaking pan

   💡Take the cookies out while they still look soft: they firm up as they cool, and long baking dries them out.

   💡Check by the cue (until…), not just the clock: every oven bakes a little differently.
7. 7
   Cool completely on the pan: the cookies firm up as they cool.