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Nov 17, 2015

Browned Butter Snickerdoodles

Brown Butter Snickerdoodles from Karen's Kitchen Stories

These Browned Butter Snickerdoodles are pretty magical. They are chewy and cinnamon-y, and not your average snickerdoodle. This is because they have a slight nutty caramel flavor from browned butter.
Browned butter you ask? It's butter that is cooked until all of the water has evaporated and the butter begins to brown. Once it starts to turn golden, you have to watch it very closely, or it will burn very quickly. You want some brown and black bits, but you want the liquid to remain a golden brown. The minute the butter reaches that point, remove it from the heat and pour it out of the pan to stop the cooking and achieve that perfect nutty flavor.

I've tried browned butter in this chocolate chip banana bread, this browned butter vanilla cake, these chocolate chip and caramel cookies, and even this carrot and cauliflower puree. It always adds something special to the final dish.



These cookies are large, about four inches across, but I had no trouble finishing an entire cookie even though I was going to take "just a taste.....").

My youngest grandchild came by after school today, so I gave him one of these cookies. I then asked him if he liked his cookie. His reply? "No, I don't like it, grandma.....  (long silence) I LOVE it!" The wisdom of a seven year old. I swear, he is channeling his great grandfather, his namesake and my dad, the eternal contrarian.

For example, my dad would say "surely," to a request, and then always follow it up with, "wait a minute, your name's not Shirley, it's Karen!"  Groan!!! He was also sure he invented the phrase "don't call me Shirley" way before the movie Airplane. Miss you dad!


This month, the members of #CreativeCookieExchange are baking cookies with cinnamon. I've seen the list of cookies and am pretty sure you will want to check them all out after the recipe.

Browned Butter Snickerdoodles

Adapted from Baked Elements: Our Ten Favorite Ingredients by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito. I have all four of their Baked cookbooks, and love them. 

Makes 24 cookies

Ingredients

8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
11 3/4 ounces (2 3/4 cups) unbleached all purpose flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp plus 2 tsp cinnamon (I used Vietnamese cinnamon), divided
1/2 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1 tbsp whole milk
1 cup plus 3 tbsp granulated sugar, divided
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

Instructions

  1. In a medium saucepan, heat the butter over medium heat, stirring regularly with a wooden spoon. When the foam evaporates, turn the heat down to medium low, and cook the butter until it turns golden brown, about 6 to 8 minutes. Immediately pour the butter into the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl if you are using a hand mixer). Turn the mixer on with the paddle attachment, and stir until the butter cools, about 5 minutes. 
  2. Whisk together the flour, cream of tarter, baking soda, 1 tsp of the cinnamon, and the salt in a large bowl or 1 quart mixing cup. 
  3. Whisk the eggs and milk together in small bowl. 
  4. When the butter is sufficiently cooled, add one cup of the granulated sugar and all of the brown sugar. Mix on medium for about two minutes. Scrape down the bowl, and mix for another 15 to 20 seconds. Add the egg mixture and beat on medium  for about a minute. 
  5. Add the flour in three increments, mixing between additions until just incorporated, about 15 seconds. 
  6. Form the dough into a ball, wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least one hour and up to 24 hours. 
  7. When you are ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 400 degrees, and line two half sheet pans with parchment paper. 
  8. In a shallow bowl, mix 3 tbsps of granulated sugar with 1 tbsp plus 1 tsp of cinnamon. 
  9. Cut the dough in half, and then into quarters. Cut each quarter into six equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball, and roll it in the cinnamon sugar mixture to coat. Place the balls on the baking sheets, 12 per sheet. 
  10. Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, for 10 to 11 minutes, until cracked on top and just set. 
  11. Cool the cookies in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and continue cooling on a wire rack. 
  12. Keep in a sealed container for up to 3 days. 
Are we the only ones who start craving cinnamon when the weather gets colder? We can’t be! And we are talking anything sold under the word cinnamon--cassia, “true Cinnamon”, Ceylon Cinnamon, Vietnamese Cinnamon--if it is sold as cinnamon it is what we want! Check out all of our cinnamon cookies below! Hint: A lot of them could be used for your holiday cookie table! 

Would you like to comment?

  1. Of course you take regular old snickerdoodles and bump them up about a thousand notches. Brown butter is awesome!

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    1. Thanks Renee! I've been known to burn it before, so I have to make sure I have extra just in case!

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  2. Ah, browned butter... Be still my heart. Can you believe I've never had a snickerdoodle? I must right this wrong ASAP and I think your browned butter beauties would be a good place to start. Awesome as always, Karen!

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    1. You definitely must right this wrong! Thanks so much Robin. =)

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  3. i love browned butter in everything! Will love these cookies for sure!

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    1. Thanks Akshatha! Love your cinnamon twists.

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  4. Between browned butter and snickerdoodles I am a walking smile anticipating what those would taste like.....

    I love love LOVE snickerdoodles.....

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    1. They are certainly the happy unicorn of cookies, aren't they? =)

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    2. Happy Unicorn of Cookies! THat is poetry... pure poetry...

      ;-)

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  5. I went through a browned butter phase a year or so ago, all because of Kayle from The Cooking Actress, so I knew I was going to love your snickerdoodles just from the title, Karen!

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    1. How fun Stacy. I'm going to have to find out who Kayle is and check out your year old posts =)

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  6. These look absolutely delicious! I've never cooked with brown butter but you just made me put it at the top of my list! Love the little things you remember about your Dad - I do the same and it always makes me smile. (aren't grandsons precious - I've got two - just wished I saw them more often)

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    1. Grandsons are the best! I'm so lucky mine live very close by.

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  7. Brown butter (and bacon) make everything better! I have Snickerdoodles on my list to make for the holidays and I am definitely trying these.

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  8. One of the best cookies! Haven't tried them with the browned butter.

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    1. I had never made them before, but this is definitely the way I'll always make them =)

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  9. Very clever with the brown butter, mmmm with the cinnamon, great cookie!!

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  10. Brown butter truly elevates a recipe-- I don't know how I managed to survive into adulthood without knowing about it! Your cookies look wonderful!

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  11. Brown butter? Pretty clever! I should try this in my Snicker Doodle recipe, it definitely should bring it to the next level!

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  12. The cookies have a lovely brown color and they look so chewy! You've reminded me of my grandmother. In India, we make clarified butter at home. So when I was small and used to visit my grandparents, she used to give us this dish wherein she would mix sugar with the left over bits from the browned butter (a little darker that clarified butter). It was a very simple dish but tasted fantastic!

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    1. What a wonderful memory. It's actually pretty much over cooked clarified butter. Lovely caramel like flavor.

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  13. I have made browned butter snickerdoodles before, but they were thicker and I suspect less chewy. I feel certain I need to do some investigation to compare and make yours too! ;)

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    1. These are just slightly under baked so they kind of fall. Plus they are big!

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  14. These look delicious! Snickerdoodles are my son's favorites, but I have never tried them with browned butter, great idea.

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  15. Hi Karen,
    I saw a recipe for white chocolate chip macadamia nut cookies years ago using browned butter. Most awesome! Nancy Baggett recipe. She has you put butter in fridge after browning to firm it back up before mixing in with other ingredients. Sometimes I even just put pan in freezer a few minutesto speed up cooling.

    I see you say to beat browned butter until butter cools. Is this only to cool butter or do you think this mixing somehow improves the cookie? Wondering if fridge/freezer method would give the same result?

    This is my must bake recipe for the holidays! Wondering what favorite cookie recipes you make for a holiday assortment?! Love to get a plate of those!

    You are one of my uber favorite bloggers! You are always giving us recipes beyond average. Your photos are great. Your writing friendly and fun to read. Thanks so much for sharing your talents with us all!!!

    Happy, happy holidays,
    Anne

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    1. awww. You just made my day! The stirring is just to cool down the butter, so your freezer or fridge method would work just fine! My favorite cookies to give away are actually some that I posted a long time ago. They are the chocolate wafers, graham wafers, and the ginger snaps. They freeze well, and their scalloped edges are so pretty!

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  16. Ok, thanks for sharing info on cooling and mentioning a few of your favorite yummy holiday cookies. I am in the throes of baking cookies and am on the hunt for tried and true deliciousness. I trust your taste completely!!!

    Have a fun-filled holiday!
    Cheers,'
    Anne

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  17. Oh if you can track down Baggett's recipe that calls for browned butter, it is best white chocolate macadamia nut cookie recipe ever! She has two recipes in her International Cookie book. (The one without browned butter is just meh.)

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    1. Thanks! I have two of her books but not the International one. Hmmmm!! =)

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