Butter cookies calories come to 23 for one 5 g cookie and 467 per 100 g. The small size is what fools people: a 1 oz handful of 28 g already reaches 131 calories. Carbs supply 59% of the energy, with 20.2 g of sugar and 11.1 g of saturated fat in every 100 g.
23kcal
1 cookie · 5 g, commercially prepared
5%protein
0.3 gProtein
3 gCarbs
0.9 gFat
How to burn off 23 kcal
—Walking, brisk
—Jogging
—Cycling, moderate
—Swimming
Skip the math. BodyPal counts these calories from your steps and workouts automatically.
Nutrition facts
Commercially prepared · per 5 g
Calories
23 kcal
Protein
0.3 g
Carbohydrate
3.4 g
Fat
0.9 g
Saturated fat
0.6 g
Cholesterol
6 mg
Sodium
14 mg
Potassium
6 mg
Iron
0.1 mg
Source: USDA FoodData Central
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Verified nutrition data
Numbers on this page come from USDA FoodData Central, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s food composition database, and from manufacturer labels where a branded product is named. Last verified September 2026. How we verify our data →
Butter cookie: calories, protein and sodium by serving
Percent of daily value uses the FDA reference of 2,000 kcal a day.
Serving
kcal
Protein
Carbs
Fat
Sodium
% DV kcal
1 cookie (5 g)
23
0.3 g
3.4 g
0.9 g
14 mg
1%
1 oz portion (28 g)
131
1.7 g
19.3 g
5.3 g
79 mg
7%
100 g
467
6.1 g
68.9 g
18.8 g
282 mg
23%
3 × 1 cookie (5 g)
70
0.9 g
42 mg
5 × 1 cookie (5 g)
117
1.5 g
71 mg
Five small cookies make 117 calories
A single butter cookie weighs about 5 g and carries 23 calories, which is 1% of a 2000-calorie daily value. On its own, that number is harmless. The catch is that almost nobody eats one cookie from a tin. Two come to 47 calories, three to 70, and five to 117.
The 1 oz portion used on many labels, 28 g, lands at 131 calories, or 7% of the daily value. That is roughly five or six cookies, depending on shape. Tins often mix rings, pretzel twists and squares of different weights, so counting pieces is less reliable than weighing a typical handful once and remembering what it looks like.
Protein barely moves as the pile grows: five cookies give just 1.5 g. Sodium stays modest too, at 71 mg for five. Calories are the number that climbs fast, and they climb quietly because each piece feels like nothing.
Carbs bring 59% of the calories, fat 36%
Per 100 g, butter cookies hold 68.9 g of carbohydrate, 18.8 g of fat and 6.1 g of protein. Translated into energy, carbs supply 59% of the calories, fat 36% and protein only 5%. This is a flour, sugar and butter food, and the split shows exactly that.
Sugars account for 20.2 g of those 68.9 g of carbs. Fiber is close to absent at 0.8 g per 100 g, and a single cookie rounds to 0 g. With so little bulk, the cookies go down quickly and the calories arrive before you notice them.
Protein is the weak spot if you count macros. A 1 oz portion gives 1.7 g, just 3% of the daily value, against 131 calories. If you want a snack that carries you to the next meal, butter cookies are not built for that job. They are built for flavor, and they deliver it.
Saturated fat is the row to watch
Of the 18.8 g of fat in 100 g of butter cookies, 11.1 g is saturated. The daily value for saturated fat is 20 g, so a 100 g sitting uses more than half of it. Butter is the reason: it gives these cookies their rich, short texture and most of their saturated fat.
Cholesterol comes from the same butter and the eggs in many recipes. It reaches 117 mg per 100 g, against a daily value of 300 mg. Few people sit down planning to eat 100 g, but an open tin on the counter makes it easier than it sounds.
Sodium is lower than you might expect from a packaged baked good: 282 mg per 100 g, or 12% of the daily value, and 14 mg per cookie. Potassium is small at 111 mg per 100 g. If you watch saturated fat, portion size matters far more here than salt does.
Plate a few, then close the tin
Butter cookies fit most eating patterns as a planned treat rather than an open-ended snack. Two or three cookies, 47 to 70 calories, sit comfortably next to a coffee or a cup of tea. Putting them on a plate before you sit down keeps the count honest.
Because they bring little protein or fiber, pairing them with something that does makes the snack feel more complete. A glass of milk, a bowl of plain yogurt or a piece of fruit adds what the cookie lacks. Those additions carry their own calories, so count them too.
If you track your intake, BodyPal can log butter cookies from a photo, which helps when a tin mixes shapes and sizes. Log what you actually ate, not the label's 1 oz guess.
How does butter cookie compare?
Here is how butter cookies stack up against sugar cookies, chocolate chip cookies and a generic cookie, per 100 g and per usual serving.
Verdict: Butter cookies are the lightest of the group at 467 calories per 100 g, against 489 for sugar cookies and 492 for chocolate chip, with less sodium at 282 mg versus 362 and 311. For portion control pick the butter cookie: at 23 calories a piece it is far easier to stop at a few than with a 112-calorie sugar cookie, even though gram for gram the gap is small.
Most popular butter cookie brands in the United States
Ranked by popularity in the BodyPal database
# Productkcal / 100 g
1Royal Dansk Danish Butter Cookies4 cookies · 34 g529 kcal
2Britannia Good Day Butter Cookies4 biscuits · 34 g500 kcal
3Santa Edwiges Butter Cookies34 g441 kcal
Danish-style tin cookies are richer than the USDA average, so their labels read 441 to 529 calories per 100 g against 467 above. Source: manufacturer labels / USDA FoodData Central.
Butter cookie FAQs
How many calories are in one butter cookie?
A small butter cookie of 5 g has about 23 calories. A 1 oz portion (28 g) works out to 131 calories.
Are butter cookies good for weight loss?
Butter cookies are 467 calories per 100 g, with 18.8 g fat, 11.1 g of it saturated, and only 6.1 g protein. A 1 oz portion costs 131 calories.
Butter cookies vs sugar cookies: which has more calories?
Sugar cookies are 489 calories per 100 g and butter cookies 467, a difference of 22 calories per 100 g.
How much sugar is in butter cookies?
100 g of butter cookies has 20.2 g sugar out of 68.9 g total carbs. One 5 g cookie has about 1 g sugar.
How many calories are in 2 or 3 butter cookies?
Two butter cookies have 47 calories and three have 70, based on 5 g cookies. Two give 0.6 g of protein and 28 mg of sodium; three give 0.9 g of protein and 42 mg of sodium.
How many calories are in a handful from a cookie tin?
A 1 oz handful of 28 g has 131 calories, 7% of the daily value. It also brings 5.3 g of fat, 5.7 g of sugar and 79 mg of sodium. Five cookies of 25 g come to 117 calories.
Are butter cookies good for you?
They are a treat, at 467 calories per 100 g with 20.2 g of sugar and 11.1 g of saturated fat. Protein is low at 6.1 g and fiber at 0.8 g, so enjoy a few and plan around them.
What are the nutrition facts for butter cookies per 100 g?
Per 100 g, butter cookies have 467 calories, 68.9 g of carbs, 18.8 g of fat, 6.1 g of protein and 20.2 g of sugars. They also contain 282 mg of sodium and 117 mg of cholesterol.
How many calories are in Danish butter cookies?
USDA values for commercially prepared butter cookies, the style sold in Danish tins, are 467 calories per 100 g and 23 per 5 g cookie. Brand figures vary with cookie size, so check your tin's label.
