171 butter cookie recipes

Smokey's sourdough chocolate chip cookies, a soft, chewy classic with a subtle tang from sourdough starter. Brown sugar and a butter-shortening combo keep them tender. A tasty use for sourdough discard.

To Do Tarts: small pecan cookies bound with ground stale bread, orange zest, and stiffly beaten egg white. Five-ingredient nut cookies with no flour and no butter, ready in 30 minutes.

Lighter cocoa oatmeal cookies made with egg whites and nonfat yogurt instead of whole eggs and butter. Studded with mini chocolate chips and chewy with 3 cups of quick oats. Makes a whopping 66 cookies.

Crunchy Italian orange almond biscotti, twice-baked for that signature snap and loaded with toasted almonds and bright orange zest. A no-butter cookie made for dunking in coffee or vin santo.

Old-fashioned Nantucket molasses cookies with brown sugar, butter, and a soft, cake-like texture. Six pantry ingredients and no eggs, just like the New England whaling-era originals.

Soft-centered cookies loaded with semisweet and vanilla milk chips plus slivered almonds. Brown butter dough with almond extract creates bakery-style treats.

Brown sugar chocolate chip cookies made with butter-flavored shortening for extra chewy centers and crisp edges. Choose your bake time for chewy or crunchy results. Makes 3 dozen with optional pecans.

No-bake peanut butter snowballs with chopped dates and walnuts, dipped in icing and rolled in coconut. Christmas cookie tin classic. No oven, kids love them.

Mexican wedding cookies shaped into crescents with butter, crushed pecans, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Tender, crumbly, and melt-in-your-mouth with just six ingredients.

Butterscotch shortbread cookies made with dark brown sugar and unsalted butter, topped with chopped walnuts or pecans pressed into the dough. Makes 72 bite-sized squares.

Slice-and-bake vanilla wafer cookies with powdered sugar, butter, and cream of tartar. Make the dough ahead, chill, slice thin, and bake crispy in 10 minutes.

Easy angel cookies use just three ingredients: angel food cake mix, water, and chopped fruit. Light, puffy, and ready in 20 minutes with no eggs, butter, or oil.

Pecan crisps made with butter, brown sugar, and vanilla, rolled thin and topped with a pecan half. A simple kneaded dough yields tender, nutty cookies with lightly browned edges.

Egg shortbread cookies with a tender, crumbly texture from butter, sugar, and a whole egg. Blind-baked with pie weights for an even, golden result. Simple 5-ingredient recipe.

Fat-free oatmeal cookies sweetened with mashed banana, applesauce, and brown sugar. No butter, no oil. Whole wheat flour and oats give them satisfying chew. Vegan-friendly with optional raisins and sesame.

Mexican wedding cookies (polvorones) made with butter, finely chopped pecans, vanilla, and a hint of cinnamon, rolled in powdered sugar while still warm. Tender, crumbly, and melt-in-your-mouth.