Cultured Butter Cookies Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Is cultured butter good for cookies? ›

Outside of simply spreading on toast or using as a dip for radishes, you can use cultured butter in any dishes you would use noncultured butter. However, because it is more expensive, I prefer to reserve it for recipes where the butter flavor can truly shine, such as shortbread, sugar cookies, pie crust and biscuits.

While you can use cultured butter in any recipe, it really shines in baking. According to Deputy Editor James Schend, “it will only make things better.” Not only will the flavor come through in your bakes, but James also explains that this butter's slight acidity can produce more tender bakes.

Unsalted butter is better suited to baked goods like cookies that are sensitive to salt content and rely on butter's creamy flavor profile, helping ensure that you don't end up with an overly-salty baked good.

Adjust baking time to achieve the cookie texture desired. A little less time produces chewier cookies, a little more time makes them crispy. If you prefer softer cookies, remove them from the oven while they are still slightly under baked. Always check for doneness at the minimum baking time.

Cultured butter can be used anywhere you would use regular sweet cream butter—you can use cultured butter in any recipe that calls for regular butter. It will affect recipes in a relatively subtle yet meaningful way. And it will only improve things, says Martano.

Cultured butters contain probiotics, live microbes with proven health benefits. Standard butters, known as 'sweet butter', do not. Cultured butters taste AMAZING! Most people with lactose intolerance can tolerate butter because it contains only trace amounts of lactose (<0.7g/100g).

At the end of the day, cultured butter is fine to keep at room temperature, just not for too long. The solution is to eat more butter, more often -- or to put only the amount of butter you know you'll use in a few days in your butter dish.

Sometimes referred to as “European-style butter,” cultured butter is treated with live cultures and allowed to ferment before it's churned. This results in butter with a stronger, more lactic flavor. Cultured butter generally has a higher butterfat content (typically 82–85%) than standard American butter (80–82%).

European-style butter refers to a cultured butter that has been churned longer to achieve at least 82 percent butterfat. Traditionally the butter is allowed to ferment to achieve a light sour taste, but you're more likely to find butter made with added cultures. Either way, you still end up with a tangy butter.

Adding too little butter can cause the cookies to be tough and crumbly. You should use unsalted butter to control the salt content, but if you only have salted on hand, reduce the amount of added salt accordingly. Sugar sweetens the cookies and makes them an enticing golden brown.

Why are butter cookies so good? ›

Butter cookies are classic cookies known for their rich, buttery flavor, and crisp texture. The flavor is lightly sweetened with warm notes of butter and vanilla. Similar to shortbread cookies, they are very popular around the holidays and are often given as Christmas cookie gifts.

All-purpose flour is the most commonly used flour in cookie recipes due to its moderate protein content (usually around 10-12%). This balanced protein level makes it versatile enough to produce both soft and chewy cookies as well as slightly crisp ones.

Baking soda is typically used for chewy cookies, while baking powder is generally used for light and airy cookies. Since baking powder is comprised of a number of ingredients (baking soda, cream of tartar, cornstarch, etc.), using it instead of pure baking soda will affect the taste of your cookies.

Baking cookies quickly in a hot oven – at 375 degrees F as opposed to a lower temperature – will make for soft results. They'll bake fast instead of sitting and drying out in the oven's hot air. Ever so slightly underbaking your cookies will give you softer results than cooking them the full amount the recipe says.

Cultured butter is made from pasteurized cream that's been exposed to live bacterial cultures (much like the cultures used to make yogurt and cheese). The bacterial cultures jumpstart a fermentation process, which thickens the cream and gives it a tangier, more complex flavor.

Despite the name, sweet cream butter contains no sugar and it doesn't have any inherent sweetness. You'll find that it tastes like straightforward butter. In contrast, butter made with cultured cream, like Vermont Creamery or Banner Butter, tends to have a tangier flavor.

– Cultured butter typically lasts for 10 days in the refrigerator. – Butter easily absorbs other odors so make sure it is tightly-sealed. – You can also freeze butter – it will last for several months.

There are 2 main differences between Lightly Salted and Cultured Unsalted Raw Butter. To begin with, Unsalted Raw Butter is made simply with cold-churned Heavy Raw Cream and cultures. It has a tarter taste due to the culturing and will sour easier than salted raw butter.