Brown Butter Snickerdoodle Cookies
Brown butter snickerdoodle cookies have a caramel-like flavor from nutty brown butter, perfectly crisp edges, and extra gooey centers. They are the most decadent twist on a classic snickerdoodle cookie recipe that everyone will love!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 14 ½ tablespoon salted european butter I used Kerry Gold * SEE NOTES *
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup + 2 tbsp light brown sugar packed
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk room temperature
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ⅔ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ cup granulated sugar for rolling
- ½ tsp cinnamon for rolling
Instructions
- In a stainless steel pan, add the cubed butter and place it over medium heat. Stir the butter occasionlly until it looks foamy, smells nutty, and the bottom is covered in amber brown bits.
- Take the pan off the heat and pour the butter into a large bowl. Make sure to scrape all of the butter and browned bits from the pan with a rubber spatula. You should have about 170 g or ¾ cup browned butter.
- Let the browned butter cool for about 20 minutes, or until it feels room temperature.
- Whisk the brown and white sugar into the butter.
- Whisk in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla.
- Use a rubber spatula to fold in the flour, baking soda, salt, and cream of tartar until just combined.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.
- In a small bowl, mix together the sugar and cinnamon.
- After chilling, scoop the dough into 3 tablespoon (66 g) sized portions and roll them in the cinnamon sugar. Place them on a lined baking tray and place them back in the fridge for at least another 30 minutes (or overnight for the best flavor!).
- Then preheat the oven to 350 F/180 C.
- Bake the cookies spaced 2-3 inches apart for 9-10 minutes, or until the edges are a light golden brown and the middle is puffy.If baking the next day, they may need to bake 1-2 minutes longer in the oven.
- Let cool completely on a wire cooling rack then enjoy!
Notes
A European butter has a higher fat content making these cookies more rich and flavorful than regular butter. Butter can have different percentages of water content so I recommend weighing or measuring how much butter you have after it's browned. My go-to high-fat butter brand is Kerry Gold or Plugra European-style butter.
For even more flavor, let the dough chill for 24 hours in the fridge before baking. They may need an extra 1-2 minutes when baking.
recipe tips
Use a kitchen scale. Baking with a scale is much more accurate than cup measurements. To convert this recipe, click the "metric" button next to the ingredients title on the recipe card.
Tips for browning butter: The most important tip when making brown butter is don't walk away from it! The butter can burn if left alone for too long so it's best to stand by to prevent this from happening.
Chill the dough. Chilling keeps the cookies from spreading too much in the oven, and it also gives them a better flavor and texture.
Cool the butter to room temperature. Once the butter is browned, you must let it come to room temperature before whisking in the sugar. Otherwise, the hot butter will melt the sugars and the cookies will spread in the oven.