Brown Butter Cinnamon Sugar Cookies

Believe it or not, I have never browned butter before. I decided to try out my first brown butter recipe during the snowpocalypse this winter. HUGE mistake. These cookies are so good I cannot keep my hands out of the cookie jar. They are amazing with milk, they are amazing with coffee (my personal favorite), they are amazing on their own…they are just amazing. 

But don't take my word for it, you need to make these ASAP. 

Brown butter is pretty easy to make. You simply cook your butter on medium heat until it is aromatic and brown bits start floating to the top. It develops this amazing nutty aroma and a rich brown color.

 Think of it as a "butter reduction" if you will.
It is also the key to these addictive cookies. 

Cookies

8 oz (2 sticks) unsalted butter

1 1/2 C brown sugar 

1 C granulated sugar 

2 eggs

2 egg yolks 

1 tsp vanilla 

2 1/2 C unbleached all-purpose flour 

2 tsp baking soda 

1 tsp kosher salt

Cinnamon sugar coating

1/4 C sugar 

1 Tbsp ground cinnamon 

 In a medium sized pot, melt both sticks of butter (cut into cubes) on medium heat. Once the butter has melted, continue to cook over medium heat until butter has browned and is very fragrant. Trust me, you'll know it when you see and smell it. Small bits of browned butter will float throughout.
Watch the butter very carefully as it can quickly burn and blacken. Gross.

Remove the browned butter from the heat and transfer to another container (i.e. glass measuring cup). Allow butter to cool to room temperature. 

 Transfer the room temperature butter into your mixing bowl and mix in brown and granulated sugar until smooth.

 Add the eggs and egg yolks one at a time and then mix in the vanilla. 

In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking soda and salt.
Add this dry mixture to the wet ingredients in three sections, mixing on low speed. 

 Preheat oven to 325 degrees. 

 In a smaller bowl, mix together remaining sugar and cinnamon. 

Using a cookie scoop, portion out cookie dough and roll the balls in the cinnamon sugar mixture before placing on the cookie sheet. Leave about 2 inches between cookie balls to allow room for spreading.

 Bake for 15-18 minutes (it took 17 exactly in my oven) until the cookies have spread out, the edges are golden brown and the centers are still a little soft. 

 Allow the cookies to cool on the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Enjoy these fresh or store in an airtight container. And share some with the neighbors, because if you are snowed in with the entire batch, you will eat. them. all.