Spring Forward! YES!! It’s here! It should never go back to falling back. It should always stay this way. Amen.
It’s exciting because we get an extra hour of daylight. Do you know what that means for a food blogger? More daylight for food photos! And, as the summer approaches, less gloomy days! Less gloomy days equals brighter, happier cookie photos. 
Soooo, what do you think about my braid on these Braided Butter Cookies? Did I nail it? Does it look like a braid? I think it looks darn good.
I am always iffy about sharing a cookie recipe with you that comes from back home. The process seems so complicated, and unless you have seen it done with your own two eyes, some cookie recipes, or bread recipes, do not make sense.
The recipe for these cookies comes from a lady that I have known for over 20 years. She is a dear friend of my parents, and she was thrilled when I asked her to show me how she makes them. A few months ago I spent an entire afternoon with her, and we made 4 batches. That’s like 160 cookies! Good thing these babies last. Throw them in the freezer and they are good for the next 3 to 4 months.
One of the more difficult parts of this recipe is one, adding the correct amount of flour, and that’s why I say start with 3 cups and then work your way up to 4, if need be. And the second difficult part is not eating them all as soon as they come out of the oven.
I have made these three or four times in the last 6 months, and now, finally, I thought it was time to share them with you.
First, I am sharing them because you need these cookies in your life, of course. Especially if you like coffee or tea. Secondly, I am sharing them because I have had SO many emails from Macedonian women and men looking for a recipe for THE Braided Butter Cookies. We make these for a number of Holidays, including Easter. And since Easter is right around the corner, I thought this was the perfect time to share.
The cookies are dry, but soft to the bite, sweet, and will satisfy even the strongest cookie cravings. They do very well with a good dip into coffee or tea.
ENJOY!
These Braided Butter Cookies are dry, but soft to the bite, sweet, and will satisfy even the strongest cookie cravings. They do very well with a good dip into coffee or tea.
Ingredients
- 3 to 4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 sticks butter, room temperature
- 1 cup castor sugar or superfine sugar
- 6 eggs, at room temperature, separated
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup warm milk
- 2 egg yolks, whisked, used for brushing tops
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Line 3 baking trays with parchment paper; set aside.
- Sift flour and baking powder together and set aside.
- In your mixer's bowl, beat butter and sugar on low until pale and creamy.
- Add egg yolks one at a time and beat until well combined.
- In a separate bowl beat egg whites on high until soft peaks form; set aside.
- Add vanilla extract to the butter and sugar mixture and mix until thoroughly combined.
- Alternately fold in milk, egg whites and flour mixture until a soft but still slightly sticky dough forms. Start with 3 cups of flour, check the consistency of the dough before adding more flour (a tablespoon at a time), and when you can pick a bit into your hands and roll it into a small ball without it sticking to your fingers, it’s ready to shape.
- Lightly flour a work surface; transfer the dough to the surface and knead the dough for 3 minutes.
- To shape the dough into braids or twists, take walnut-size pieces of dough and use your fingers to roll them into strands about 6 inches long.
- Bend each strand in half, then twist to form a braid.
- Place on prepared baking trays, about an inch apart, and brush with whisked egg yolk.
- Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until lightly golden, but not brown.
- Cool slightly on baking tray, then move to cooling rack to cool completely.
- Serve with coffee or tea.
Notes
Butter and Eggs should be at room temperature. Store cookies in airtight container for up to 5 days. Store cookies in airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months.
I’ve never seen such cookies before. When I first saw the photo I thought they are small braided dinner rolls.
They are gorgeous Kate, yes, you did nail the technique
These are so cute! I thought they were dinner rolls when I first saw them—yay that they’re cookies!
I don’t think I’ve seen braided cookies before but they are adorable and hooray for extra daylight!
Daylight savings time totally needs to be a year round thing. But the temperatures need to catch up with the fact that it’s almost spring. Love these unique cookies!
These cookies are stunning. I love how got the recipe from a family friend..it’s wonderful to have these recipes document.
Kate,
Thank you so much for sharing a cookie recipe from “back home”. Even if it’s not MY back home, it means so much more than just a recipe, it’s a link to tradition and heritage.
I appreciate it!
Oh my, you are so right about the extra daylight hours for us food bloggers to take photos! That’s exactly what I told my kiddos when they complained about losing an hour of sleep. I didn’t convince them it was a good thing, but me and my camera know better
.
As for your yummy braided cookies – they’re so cute. I definitely think I need them in my life! Thanks for sharing this special recipe.
I’ll be making good coffee and waiting for you to bring these yummy cookies! So cute. Perfect cute little shape to dip in coffee.
Of course it doesn´t matter how they taste because they are so pretty! No, really, these are so unique and simple in flavor. Gorgeous Kate! Can´t wait to see what my braid looks like!
I am so happy that you were able toshare this recipe finally. My baba used to make these and hands down, they were my family’s FAVORITE. Since she passed away over 30 years ago, we have lost this recipe. My 85 year old 100% Macedonian dad will be thrilled with the memories.
Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!
Hi Gina!
I’m so happy to know that you can use this recipe!! Hope your dad will love the cookies!
I’ve never seen cookies like this and they look so very good. I wish I made sweets/desserts more often so I could try them out (just made apple streusel coffee cake last night) but I’ll definitely keep these in mind for the future.
Of course I need these cookies in my life… perfect braids! Think it would work to add some citrus zest?
Absolutely!!
Great idea!
These are so fun, Kate! Perfect to pair with my afternoon tea
Mmm, I can almost taste these now – SO happy you shared these with us! I totally get the 3 cups flour, a fourth if need be…
and YAY I am with ya on the extra daylight – I always love this time of year, and in the summer, we have light until 9pm!
have a great week!
Yes, you definitely nailed these!!! I can see me dipping them in my afternoon tea right now. Gorgeous and delicious! And yes – let’s just leave time alone!
If that is the result I will go trough any sort of complicated process to bake them!
I love that you made them with the lady that you got the recipe from and I love it when you share recipes from your homeland. Many of them remind me of things my grandma used to make!