Is there anything better than something so decadent that it melts in your mouth? I feel like it took me until about 30 to really appreciate that. My grandma would make shortbread every Christmas when I was growing up (and peppermint-flavored Rice Krispie treats with the red and green rice Krispies), and I never appreciated it.

Those cookies in the blue tin that are such a Christmas classic are something I wanted to love every Christmas because I am a sucker for packaging and everything about them spoke to that part of me. But every year, they didn’t live up to whatever expectation I had. Ohh how naive I was.

So now, at an age where I realize that too much sugar makes me break out in eczema, and I feel so much better when I don’t eat dairy, I want all the shortbread and butter-filled treats. I decided it was worth a try to make a Danish Butter Cookie without dairy butter.

I wasn’t overly optimistic. Some plant-based butter makes things greasy and crispy, but this was not the case. I am not at all sponsored, but Miyokos butter is the real deal. I honestly have to try to resist the urge to buy 2-3 packages of it every time I go to the store.

And if you don’t have the same issues that I have with butter, by all means, make this with all the creamy butter, but you might have to add a little extra milk to get the consistency right. Dairy-free butter can be a lot softer at room temperature.

Danish Butter Cookies (Vegan)

Ingredients

227g softened vegan butter (I prefer Miyokos) *

80g sifted powdered sugar

1 tsp almond extract

1 tsp vanilla bean paste (or extract)

265g all-purpose flour

30g tapioca starch (or cornstarch)

¼ tsp fine salt

1-2 tbsp almond milk (or other milk)

*You can also use regular butter, but you might need a little more milk

Directions

In a mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar together for 3-4 minutes until fluffy.
Scrape down the sides. Add the almond extract and the vanilla bean paste, mix for another 30 seconds and scrape down the sides again.
In another mixing bowl, combine the flour, tapioca starch, and salt.
Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Pour in half of the mixture, then mix for 30 seconds, scrape down the sides and then add the remaining and mix until combined.
Add the milk 1 tbsp at a time; you may not need it all. You want the mixture to be soft enough to be piped onto a pan. You don’t want it to be too hard to pan, but you want it to hold its shape.
Put the mixture into a piping bag, fitted with a large piping tip (I like the Wilton 8b). Pipe the cookies onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Try to keep them the same size. If you want to add sprinkles or colored sugar, now is the time.
Chill the pan for 30 minutes and preheat the oven to 325º.
Put the cookies on the middle shelf for 10-12 minutes, be careful not to overbake.
Cool the cookies for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.
If you want to dip the cookies in chocolate, wait until they are cooled and dip in melted chocolate.