Melt-in-Your-Mouth French Salted Butter Cookies Recipe
These Melt-in-Your-Mouth French Salted Butter Cookies are delicately tender, perfectly buttery, and lightly salty with a subtle crunch from fleur de sel. Made with classic French unsalted butter and a hint of vanilla, these cookies are simple to prepare and bring an elegant touch to any sweet treat collection. Optional variations allow adding chocolate chips, chopped nuts, or citrus zest for customized flavors.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 47 minutes
- Yield: 24 cookies 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: French
Ingredients
Scale
For the Cookie Dough
- 1 cup Unsalted French Butter, softened
- 3/4 cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 large Egg
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 2 cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt (or Fleur de Sel) for the dough
Optional Variations
- 1 cup Chocolate Chips, semi-sweet or dark
- 1/2 cup Chopped Nuts, pecans or walnuts
- 1 tablespoon Citrus Zest, lemon or orange
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and line baking sheets with parchment paper to ensure cookies don’t stick and bake evenly.
- Cream Butter and Sugar: In a large bowl, cream together the softened unsalted French butter and granulated sugar until the mixture becomes light and fluffy, which helps create a tender texture.
- Add Egg and Vanilla: Beat in the large egg and vanilla extract until fully combined, incorporating moisture and flavor into the dough.
- Combine Dry Ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and sea salt to ensure even distribution of leavening and seasoning.
- Mix Dry and Wet Ingredients: Gradually add the dry ingredients into the wet mixture, mixing until a dough forms, being careful not to overwork it to keep cookies tender.
- Chill the Dough: Cover and chill the dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes, which helps control spread during baking and improves texture.
- Shape Cookies: Roll the chilled dough into tablespoon-sized balls and place them evenly spaced on the prepared baking sheets.
- Add Salt Topping: Sprinkle additional sea salt or fleur de sel on top of each dough ball to enhance the buttery flavor with a delicate salty crunch.
- Bake: Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes, until the edges turn golden brown while the centers remain soft for that melt-in-your-mouth quality.
- Cool: Allow the cookies to cool slightly on the baking sheets before transferring them to wire racks to finish cooling, which prevents breaking and helps them set.
Notes
- You can customize the cookies by folding in chocolate chips, chopped nuts, or citrus zest into the dough before chilling.
- Use high-quality unsalted French butter for the best flavor and texture.
- Do not overbake; cookies should appear slightly soft in the center when removing from the oven.
- Store cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.
- For a crunchier texture, bake for an additional 1-2 minutes but monitor closely.
Keywords: French butter cookies, salted butter cookies, melt-in-your-mouth cookies, classic French cookies, buttery cookies, vanilla cookies, fleur de sel cookies
