I don’t often buy store-bought cookies. All the homemade stuff makes that unnecessary. After we moved last month, however, I stayed out of the kitchen until we could get settled into the new place. During those days, I discovered Brooklyn’s own The Good Batch at a local market.
On impulse, I bought a package of their Brown Butter Salty cookies. These amazing cookies are a soft shortbread made with browned butter and topped with a pinch of salt. I was hooked immediately. So, I set out to make something similar.
I decided to go the sugar cookie route. I’ve probably only made sugar cookies a handful of times in my baking life. They’ve never been all that appealing to me. But, these. These! These are way beyond sugar cookies.
First of all, they start out with browned butter, which is one of my favorite things. All that rich, nutty flavor takes an everyday sugar cookie and turns it into something truly special. Plus, they have that wonderful crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside thing going for them.
With all the recipes I’ve shared over the last 6+ years, it’s difficult to make really big proclamations about a particular one. But, that’s exactly what I’m doing with these. I’m always a fan of sweet and salty, and these are quite possibly my new favorite realization of that.
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 & 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 & 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- coarse salt, for sprinkling tops of cookies
Instructions
Place butter in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently. Once butter melts and begins to foam, continue to cook until brown specks begin to appear beneath the foam. Butter will have a nutty aroma. Remove from heat and transfer to a glass bowl. Allow to cool.
Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
Beat cooled butter, brown sugar, and sugar until combined. Add egg and vanilla, and mix well. Gradually add flour mixture, mixing just until combined.
Refrigerate dough for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350°. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone liners.
Using about a tablespoonful of dough, roll into balls and place on prepared pans. Flatten each ball slightly. Sprinkle coarse salt on tops of cookies. (The amount of salt is a preference thing. I recommend just barely a pinch.)
Bake 12-15 minutes, or until edges of cookies are browned and centers are set. Cool in pans on wire racks for 5-10 minutes. Then, transfer cookies to wire racks to cool completely.
http://www.bakeorbreak.com/2012/10/browned-butter-salty-sugar-cookies/
October 15th, 2012 at 1:37 pm
you know I love the salt addition!
October 15th, 2012 at 1:55 pm
These sound awesome! I think I would be crazy and add butterscotch chips.
October 15th, 2012 at 3:07 pm
What an excellent twist on a basic sugar cookie, I can’t wait to try!
October 15th, 2012 at 3:21 pm
These sound heavenly. I will be trying them this week.
October 15th, 2012 at 5:18 pm
Sugar cookies are my weakness (one of many), and brown butter is my happy place. These cookies look amazing!!
October 16th, 2012 at 12:09 am
I have never tried brown butter…anything really…I know where have I been for the last years
I think this is the recipe to ease me into the idea of brown butter and salt 
October 16th, 2012 at 6:18 am
These look amazing! I love the browned butter twist on the classic sugar cookie!
October 16th, 2012 at 7:51 am
Not only are these so pretty, they sound amazingly yummy!! Can’t wait to try them.
October 16th, 2012 at 2:13 pm
I’m a sucker for browned butter! These look delicious!
October 18th, 2012 at 2:13 am
These were absolutely delicious! Though, mine didn’t turn out quite as pretty as yours for some reason.
October 18th, 2012 at 5:41 pm
These came out fantastic! My friends liked them because they’re a little different than the average cookie, and mentioned liking the salt, too. I rarely eat what I bake but these were too good to pass up! I added a few butterscotch chips to some and those got good reviews, too! Thanks for another great recipe!(^o^)
October 19th, 2012 at 12:29 pm
Wowza! These are on my weekend baking list. Can not WAIT to try.
October 29th, 2012 at 9:51 pm
Just made these and they are fantastic! Love, love, love them. The salty and sweet is perfection
October 31st, 2012 at 2:56 pm
Making these today for a Halloween treat- I looooove salty-sweet, so I can’t wait to try them!
January 6th, 2013 at 8:50 pm
These look amazing!
May 14th, 2013 at 10:24 am
I was at the Food Blogger bake sale that Saturday (May 2013) and bought these cookies and ate every last one! My grand-daughter who accompanied me, didn’t want any, so…
Really, really good! And soooo buttery!
How did you all make out? Did you reach your goal?
May 14th, 2013 at 11:15 am
Hi, Donna! Thanks for buying the cookies! They are one of my favorites. We did reach our goal – over $3000!