Brown Butter Independence Day Cookies

Brown Butter Cookies - July 4th!
Yield: ~32 cookies

The 4th of July is right around the corner, and I was wondering what I could bake to celebrate this holiday.  I had many ideas, ranging from cakes to cupcakes to cookies of all different types.  I finally decided on making Brown Butter Cookies and jazzing them up with sprinkles.  The good part about this recipe?  You can change the sprinkle color to celebrate any holiday!

These brown butter cookies have a nuttier taste, with a soft, melt in your mouth center.  These cookies should satisfy the whole crowd!

Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup golden brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
Red, White, and Blue Sprinkles

Bake cookies at 350 degrees Faranheit

Recipe:

1. Melt butter in a sauce pan until golden.  It took about 10 minutes for the butter to turn brown.  I did this over low to medium heat.
2. Pour the butter into a heat-proof bowl and let sit for 5 minutes.  I used a kitchen aid mixer, and poured the butter directly into my mixing bowl.  I would suggest using a mixer for this recipe.
3. Beat butter for 30 seconds, then add in the brown sugar, mixing until there is a dark brown color consistency.
4. Add in 1/2 cup granulated sugar.  You will notice that the butter-sugar mixture will take on a more solid consistency.
5. Mix in the eggs and vanilla.
6. Add in the baking soda, salt, and 1/4 cup of flour.  Mix until incorporated.  Add in the rest of the flour, a little at a time, until fully mixed.
7. Place the dough in the refrigerator for at least 25 minutes.  This step is really important.  If you try and scoop out the dough now, you will notice that it is very liquid-y and you won't be able to form a shape. This will be a good time to heat up the oven, or leave in the fridge for a day until you want to bake cookies.
8. Mix Red, White, and Blue sprinkles in equal proportion.  I used a total of 4 tsp for each color, but this will vary depending on sprinkle use.
   
   
9. Scoop dough out onto a GREASED baking sheet (I used a Zeroll 2040 EZ Disher, but you can definitely use a smaller scoop size to make more cookies).  Taking the back of a spoon, flatten out the dough.  Add sprinkles to the top.  Make sure that you press the sprinkles into the dough; this will ensure that sprinkles do not get lost in your oven later.  As the dough will spread during the baking, make sure that you add sprinkles all the way to the sides of the dough.  What looks like a lot of sprinkles now, won't look like a lot later.
10. Put the tray into the fridge for 5 minutes.  If your refrigerator is too small for this, you can probably skip this step.  Just make sure to move through step 8 fast, and watch the baking time as it might decrease.  I would not suggest transferring the dough balls between trays/ containers once formed.
11. Bake for 9-11 minutes.  Watch the cookies carefully at the end.  It only takes about 30 - 60 seconds to over0-cook these cookies.  They will be a darker, more golden brown due to the base of the cookies being a browned butter and brown sugar.
12. Let cool for 2 minutes and then move to a wire rack.

Share with Friends and Enjoy!