This Butter Dream Cookies recipe has been a holiday favorite in my family for over 40 years.
One RecipeGirl reader said that he got this from the Crisco shortening container many years ago. That doesn’t surprise me at all. My Mom was always cutting recipes out of magazines and gathering favorites from friends.
Sometimes the brand containers shared the best recipes too. So she made these butter dream cookies as a holiday cookie when I was little. And now they’re on my holiday baking list too!
The fun part about making these a holiday cookie is that you can use maraschino cherries in the middle to make things look festive. And since they sell both red and green maraschino cherries, you can buy both and make some green and some red.
I actually don’t like to eat maraschino cherries at all, so I always take mine out before eating. But the maraschino cherry juice they leave behind is delicious!
I suggest you add these to your list of Christmas cookies to bake this year, and you might just find that you have a winner that you’ll want to repeat every year. Enjoy!
The Best Holiday Cookie Recipes:
- Chocolate Peppermint Bark Cookies
- Eggnog Cookies
- Italian Christmas Cookies
- Chewy Molasses Spice Cookies
- Holiday Nuggets
Butter Dream Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
- ½ cup solid shortening
- ½ cup granulated white sugar
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 2¼ cups all purpose flour
- red and/or green maraschino cherries, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silpat mats.
- In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to combine the butter, shortening, and sugar. Blend in the almond extract and flour. Shape into balls and set on a baking sheet 2-inches apart.
- Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. If using cherries, press ½ of a maraschino cherry in the center of each cookie as soon as they come out of the oven. Let cool for several minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
These came out beautifully, delicious. Very easy to make. I used candied cherries. Definitely making again. Bet they would taste great with Hershey’s Kiss instead of cherry too. Love the texture and taste
Is this salted or unsalted butter?
I like to use salted butter.
I still have the recipe from the Crisco Shortening container! This is recipe has been used every year for Christmas at least the last forty years as well! A family favorite, easy to make, fun to eat! As a side note, as a kid, we use to see if we could eat around the cherry without eating the cherry itself until last.
I have a very similar recipe that was my great grandmother’s. The only differences are it’s 1 cup of shortening (no butter), 1 egg white, and vanilla extract instead of almond. I have found it helps to add 1-2 tbsp of water. It’s also good with a nut instead of a cherry- my family usually does a combination of red and green cherries and pecans on top, just for a bit of variety. It’s our family favorite Christmas cookie!
Does anyone know if you can use coconut oil ( solid ) instead of shortening?
I have not experimented with coconut oil in baking cookies.
the recipe, as is, works. i have also seen it listed with 3/4 butter and 1/4 crisco solid shortening. either works. shortening will give the cookies more body than all butter. this is a simple, melt-in-your-mouth recipe that delights my family every Christmas!
Tried these and they turned out great
Is it possible to make these with 1 cup butter instead of using shortening?
Thanks 🙂
I have not tried making these with butter, so I’m not sure.