Hello everyone & happy Tuesday!
So a week or so ago I was having some serious cravings for cookies. I knew I wanted a cookie with brown sugar because I was thinking of a chocolate chip cookie without the chocolate (don't judge me) but then... I don't know. My cravings are usually pretty specific so I figured I would just make something myself instead of fighting the cold and walking somewhere... #NYCStruggles
Anywho, my journey to satisfying my cravings led me to Smitten Kitchen which is my favorite food blog, ever. I love how Deb shares stories with her readers while enlightening us on delicious and well-constructed recipes. So, ya know, I then stumbled upon her recipe for Brown Butter Brown Sugar Shorties which she also adapted from Gourmet Magazine. Is this recipe adaptation inception?!
Here is the recipe which, by the way, can be made Gluten Free by replacing the All-Purpose Flour with Almond Meal/Almond Flour. I tried this and I think I even like the consistency/texture better with the GF option. Hm. The more you know!
Brown Butter Brown Sugar Cookies
Yield: about 30-32 cookies
Ingredient List
- 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup well-packed brown sugar (I used light brown sugar; however, Deb prefers dark brown sugar)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour (can be replaced with almond flour for a GF option)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt (try to use a flaky salt - I used a flaky sea salt. You could always just use Kosher salt though I wouldn't recommend the iodized table salt)
- demerara sugar (sugar in the raw) OR any coarse sugar for rolling the dough in (optional)
Prep
- Cut up butter in a small sauce pan over medium heat. You want to make sure that you are stirring frequently to brown the butter evenly and continue cooking until the the bits at the bottom of the pan are light brown and there is a general nutty-type fragrance. Takes about 5 minutes.
- After browning the butter, transfer it to a medium to large mixing bowl (which we will be using to mix all the ingredients together later on) and allow it to cool at room temperature for about 1 hour. You want it solid but still soft and pliable.
- Once the butter has cooled, whip together the brown sugar and butter together until it gets nice and fluffy and changes color (you can use the picture above for reference). You can also either do this in a stand mixer or with a hand whisk (which is what I used).
- When the mixture is light and fluffy, you can go ahead and add the vanilla. Once it is mixed, add in the flour and salt until it is just combined (we don't want to over mix this dough).
- Transfer the mixture to a clean surface or on wax/parchment paper to prevent the mixture from sticking.
- Roll it out into a 12-inch log which should give you about a 1 1/2 inch diameter.
- Wrap the log in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about one hour or until firm.
- After the mixture is firm, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Remove the dough from the fridge, unwrap it from the plastic wrap and roll it in the coarse sugar. I just sprinkled a thin layer of the sugar onto parchment paper and then just rolled the log in the sugar. Whatever was left over, I placed back in the sugar container.
- You can now cut the cookies into 1/4 inch thick rounds and place them about 1 1/2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. They should take 10-12 minutes in the oven. You are just looking for them to have a dry surface with a light golden brown along the edges.
**If you don't want to cook all of the cookies, cut what you want to bake off and wrap the log (whole) in plastic wrap and freeze it! When you are ready to bake the rest, just thaw it, cut it, and bake it with the same directions as baking off the freshly made cookies. They should last about a month in the freezer.
So, that's it! I hope you enjoyed my recipe adaptation. The cookies came out amazing and I am sure will now be a staple in our household as my boyfriend could not stop eating them. They are the perfect balance of a sweet and slightly salty and nutty cookie.
If this is your first time making/trying brown butter, I know you will love it. Be sure to let me know if you have any questions!
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Until next time-
❤❤❤
-Jannelle
