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Whip up a batch of these super simple and delicious brown butter sugar cookies. They are crispy on the outside with a soft chewy inside, and a delicious rich and nutty flavor.
This brown butter sugar cookie recipe takes the classic sugar cookie to a whole new level!
Brown butter, also know as beurre noisette, is the process of cooking unsalted butter over medium heat so the water evaporates and milk solids start to brown add get toasted. The brown butter will have a delicious, nutty aroma and flavor and turn regular sugar cookies into an elevated bakery style treat.
But, unlike other bakery style cookies – these are super simple to make! Once you master the art of making brown butter (it’s really very simple!) you can have these cookies in less than an hour. They’re easy, delicious, and perfect for Christmas or the holidays season.
Why you’ll love them:
- Simple: These are a no-chill drop cookie that can be made in less than an hour!
- Delicious: The brown butter adds such a delicious depth of flavor to the cookies. And, unlike most brown butter sugar cooke recipes, this one has no brown sugar, allowing the brown butter flavor to shine through even more.
- Customizable: Try adding in toffee, a touch of cinnamon, or some chopped nuts for fun variations on this cookie recipe.
Ingredients
- Unsalted Butter: unsalted butter is the best for browning butter as salted butter will foam up much more, making it harder to tell when the brown butter is done.
- Sugar: this recipe uses only granulated sugar to keep the flavor as a pure sugar cookie!
- Vanilla extract: you can also use vanilla bean paste or the scrapings of half of a whole vanilla bean.
- All-purpose flour: make sure the flour weighted or measured using the spoon and level method so you don’t get too much in the recipe.
How to Make
Step 1: Brown Butter
Melt Butter: If desired, cut the butter into 1 inch pieces for even melting. Then add the butter to a light colored saucepan. Heat over medium heat until the butter has melted.
Allow butter to foam: Once the butter has melted, it will go through a “foaming” stage, where it will foam up. This is totally normal. While it’s foaming, gently swirl the pan to ensure even heating.
Continue Cooking: As the butter continues to heat, it will transition from foaming to a clear liquid and then begin to develop a golden hue and the milk solids will start to separate.
At this point, turn down the heat to medium low and continue cooking until the milk solids are a nice brown color and there is a distinct nutty aroma. The whole process can take less than 10 minutes, so watch the brown butter very carefully as it is easy to go from perfectly brown to burned.
Remove from heat and let cool: Once the butter has browned and there is a nutty aroma, remove from heat and pout into a heat proof container, making sure to scrape all the pieces of milk solids out of the pan.
Let cool to at least room temperate. You can also make this ahead of time and keep the butter in the fridge until ready to make the cookies.
Step 2: make cookie Dough
Combine Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
Cream Brown Butter and Sugar: Using a standing mixer, or hand held mixer with a large bowl, mix the cooled brown butter and granulated sugar until combined, about 1-2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
Add wet ingredients: Mix in the egg and vanilla extract until combined, scraping down sides of bowl with a spatula as needed.
Add dry ingredients: Add flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix until just combined, being sure not to overmix the cookie dough.
Step 3: Bake Cookies
Preheat the oven to 350 ℉. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Drop 1-2 tablespoon balls of cookie dough onto the baking sheet, keeping them 2-3 inches apart. An ice cream scoop is great for getting even sized cookies.
If desired, roll the balls of cookie dough in granulated sugar prior to adding to the cookie sheet.
Bake in the pre-heated oven for 9-12 minutes until the edges start to brown. Remove from oven and immediately tap the pan on the top of the oven. This will help the cookies settle down.
Then, let the cookies cool on the baking tray for a 5-10 minutes. Once they’ve started to firm up move the cookies to cooling rack to finish cooling. Once cool, enjoy!
Tips and Tricks
- It can be helpful to make the brown butter is a light colored pan if possible. This can help to see when the milk solids brown.
- Measure out the flour using the spoon and swipe method of fluffing up the ingredients and then spooning into the measure cups and swiping the excess off the top with a knife. If you dip the measuring cup directly into the flour it can pack down and you will add too much flour to the recipe.
- Try using an ice cream scoop to get even sized cookies!
- This recipe makes about 18-20 cookies and can be doubled for a large batch.
Fun Variations
- Brown butter and toffee sugar cookies: mix in 1 cup toffee bits into the cookie dough before baking.
- Brown butter chocolate chip sugar cookies: mix in 1 cup of your favorite chocolate chips into the cookie dough before baking.
- Brown Butter chocolate chip cookies: Check out this brown butter chocolate chip cookies recipe!
- Brown butter pecan sugar cookies: Add in ¾ cup chopped pecans into the cookie dough before baking. You can also use other nuts such as walnuts, peanuts, or hazelnuts.
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
Can I use salted butter instead of unsalted?
Salted butter will foam up much more than unsalted butter, making it harder to tell when the brown butter is done. It can also change the flavor or the brown butter slightly. For these reasons, it’s preferable to use unsalted butter when browning butter.
How can I tell if I’ve burned the brown butter?
Brown butter can go from perfectly brown to burnt very quickly, so it’s important to watch it closely. If it is burnt, the milk solids will turn black rather than an amberish brown and the brown butter can start to smoke. You’ll also notice a distinct burnt smell, rather than a nutty aroma. And, if you try it, it will have a bitter taste.
How doI get perfectly round cookies?
My favorite way to get perfectly round, picture perfect cookies is the cookie cutter hack of turning cookies to perfect circles. You can also use a heat safe bowl or large cup.
Can I freeze these?
Yes, these brown butter cookies are super freezer friendly! You can either the freeze the dough baked or unbaked and they’ll last 2-3 month in the freezer tightly wrapped in an airtight container. Let the baked cookies defrost and room temperature before eating. And, you can bake the dough frozen by adding about 5 extra minutes in the oven.
STORING AND MAKING AHEAD
These cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-5 days (if they last that long)!
The baked cookies can also be frozen up to a month. The unbaked cookies can also be frozen up a month and baked frozen. Just bake a few minutes longer until done.
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Brown Butter Sugar Cookies
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Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes
Total Time: 2 hours hours
Servings: 18
Calories: 137kcal
Author: Sophia Assunta
Equipment
Baking Sheet
Parchment Paper or Silicone Baking Mat
Mixer
INGREDIENTS
- ½ cup unsalted butter cut into pieces
- 1 cup granulated sugar plus more for rolling
- 1 large egg
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour (210 g) spooned and leveled
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
Instructions
Make Brown Butter
Add the butter to a saucepan and heat over medium until the butter is melted and starts to foam up, about 2-3 minutes. While it’s foaming, gently swirl the pan to ensure even heating.
As the butter continues to heat, the bubbles with subside and the butter will begin to develop a golden hue and the milk solids will start to separate.
At this point, turn down the heat to medium low and continue cooking until the milk solids are a nice brown color and there is a distinct nutty aroma. The whole process can take less than 10 minutes, so watch the brown butter very carefully as it is easy to go from perfectly brown to burned.
Once the butter has browned and there is a nutty aroma, remove from heat and pout into a heat proof container, making sure to scrape all the pieces of milk solids out of the pan.
Let cool to at least room temperate. You can also make this ahead of time and keep the butter in the fridge until ready to make the cookies.
Brown Butter Cookies
Preheat the oven to 350 ℉. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
Using a standing mixer, or hand held mixer with a large bowl, mix the cooled brown butter and granulated sugar until combined, about 1-2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
Mix in the egg and vanilla extract until combined, scraping down sides of bowl with a spatula as needed.
Add flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix until just combined, being sure not to overmix the cookie dough.
Drop 1-2 tablespoon balls of cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheet, keeping them 2-3 inches apart. If desired, roll the balls of cookie dough in extra granulated sugar prior to adding to the baking sheet.
Bake in the pre-heated oven for 9-12 minutes until the edges start to brown. Remove from oven and immediately tap the pan on the top of the oven. This will help the cookies settle down.
Then, let the cookies cool on the baking tray for a 5-10 minutes. Once they’ve started to firm up move the cookies to cooling rack to finish cooling. Once cool, enjoy!
Notes
- It can be helpful to make the brown butter is a light colored pan if possible. This can help to see when the milk solids brown.
- Measure out the flour using the spoon and swipe method of fluffing up the ingredients and then spooning into the measure cups and swiping the excess off the top with a knife. If you dip the measuring cup directly into the flour it can pack down and you will add too much flour to the recipe.
- Try using an ice cream scoop to get even sized cookies!
- This recipe makes about 18-20 cookies and can be doubled for a large batch.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 137kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 23mg | Sodium: 100mg | Potassium: 30mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 171IU | Calcium: 10mg | Iron: 1mg
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