Brown Butter Snickerdoodles take the classic cookies and give them an irresistible flavor twist, thanks to brown butter!
Brown Butter Snickerdoodles
This year, I very excitedly signed up to participate in The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap. I missed out on the fun last year, so I was sure to get my name on the list this year. Not only is it a fun way to share cookies, it also benefits Cookies for Kids’ Cancer.
The idea is that food bloggers sign up and then receive addresses of three food bloggers to send cookies to for the holidays. In return, you receive cookies from three different bloggers. I received some delicious cookies from Wine Imbiber, Kara Miller, and Mika Abogado. Thanks, ladies!
I boxed up and sent cookies to Joanna of Go Ahead and Snicker, Camilla of Caffay Way, and Jill of Baking by Precious.
When it came to decide what kind of cookies to send, I wanted to go traditional but with a twist. That’s exactly what these cookies are! The recipe comes to us from Baked Elements, one of my favorite cookbooks from this year.
At their heart, these are traditional Snickerdoodles, bursting with sweet cinnamon flavor. But, that one little change of using browned butter really makes them something special. If you aren’t familiar with browning butter, it’s a simple process that yields a nutty flavor. It’s one of my favorite recipe tweaks.
I really wanted to come up with a description befitting the awesomeness of these cookies. But, I think the guys from Baked say it best. They describe these cookies as “a unicorn fairy dream of cinnamon and sweet.” What could I possibly add to that?
More Snickerdoodle Recipes
- Peanut Butter Snickerdoodles
- Classic Snickerdoodles
- Toffee Pecan Snickerdoodles
- Cookie Butter Snickerdoodles
Brown Butter Snickerdoodles
Brown Butter Snickerdoodles are a rich, nutty flavor twist on classic Snickerdoodles! You'll love these chewy cinnamon cookies.
Ingredients
For the cookies:
- 1 cup (226g) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 2 & 3/4 cups (330g) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) firmly packed light brown sugar
For the cinnamon-sugar:
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Place the butter in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the butter melts and foams. Continue cooking until the foam subsides, brown specks form in the bottom of the pan, and the butter turns a nutty brown (8-10 minutes).
- If you want to remove the browned bits, pour the butter through a strainer into the bowl of a stand mixer.* Beat on medium-low speed for 5-7 minutes to cool the butter to room temperature.
- Whisk together the flour, cream of tartar, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- Combine the eggs and milk in a small bowl. Whisk lightly.
- Turn off the mixer when the butter has cooled to room temperature. Add the sugar and brown sugar. Beat until combined. Reduce mixer speed to low and pour in egg mixture. Beat until well-combined.
- Add the flour mixture in three portions, beating just until combined after each addition.
- Gather the dough into a mound in the bowl. Cover the bowl and refrigerate at least an hour, or up to 24 hours.
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Line baking sheets with silicone liners or parchment paper.
- Stir together the cinnamon-sugar ingredients in a wide-mouth bowl or shallow dish.
- Using about 2 tablespoons of dough at a time, roll the dough into balls. Roll each ball in cinnamon-sugar to coat. Place the cookies about 1 & 1/2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets.
- Bake one pan at a time for 10 minutes, or until cookies are cracked and set.**
- Cool on the pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Then, transfer the cookies directly onto wire racks to cool completely.
Notes
*You can skip straining the browned butter if you like the browned bits. I don't usually strain it for these cookies.
Recipe slightly adapted from Baked Elements.
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21 Comments on “Brown Butter Snickerdoodles”
Mmmmm GREAT choice, you can never go wrong with brown butter and add a little snickerdoodle to the mix – – well we’re in business 😉
Craving one of these now!
Craving one of these now! OK.. not sure what happend so let try this again… =)
Now THAT is the perfect Snickerdoodle!
As if I wasn’t a browned butter addict before! Agh, this just takes it over the top. 😀 Delicious looking cookies and for such a great cause. Bravo!
i love the idea of making ‘snickerdoodles’ just so i can say the word ‘snickerdoodles’ – it’s such a giggle!
I am one lucky girl to have received these goodies in the mail, thank you! Tasted amazing.
I was so happy to receive your cookies. So very tasty and they smelled fantastic!
Those look SO GOOD!
I just made these cookies today to give away as gifts. I normally don’t call a cookie beautiful, but these really were. Big, thick, soft, chewy, crispy, and the cinnamon-sugar filled cracks on top just made look even better. Your photo really did them justice, and the recipe came out perfectly. I don’t think that I cooked the butter long enough, as I did not get a pronounced brown butter flavor, but I will get it right next time. There will definitely be a next time. I’ll be posting this on my blog tomorrow. Thanks for a great recipe!
I’m making these right now, and I have to say, these are a perfect representation of what snickerdoodles should be. The flavor, texture, and even appearance are all spot-on. I believe I should note, though, a couple of things that I did differently:
1. I used aluminum foil in place of parchment paper. These cookies slid right off, and I didn’t even grease or flour the aluminum foil either. So if you’re fretting over that little detail, you can rest easy.
2. I discovered that, if you roll them into balls and leave them like that on the baking sheet, they hardly spread out. The result is a really small, meaty cookie. So instead of keeping it in a ball, I flattened the ball of dough out using my palms and then dredged each side in the cinnamon sugar mix. That worked like a charm and made it come out exactly like the picture.
Also, you can use a little less than 2 tablespoons per cookie. It’ll make your dough go a long way if you don’t want to have to make 2 full batches.
Jennifer, you are KILLING me!!! We are leaving for 3 months in France in a couple of weeks and I am TRYING to empty my stash of food supplies! But you keep teasing and teasing me with goodies! I am just a gone-er……………………OK…..so don’t give me a break. I’ll be making some of these while we’re in France!
Enjoy your trip, Nikki! I’ll vicariously enjoy all the macarons and baguettes you’ll have while you’re there.
I made these Snickerdoodles as party of my Christmas cookie lineup. After refrigerating for a few hours, my dough was hard as a brick. After I managed to form the balls, I baked according to directions for 10 minutes and then left them on the cookie sheets for 10 minutes. That was a mistake. The cookies looked great when I took them out, but became overcooked and dry leaving them on the pan for those 10 minutes. They tasted great, though, with the brown butter.
If I try them again, I will only refrigerate for 30 min. and take them off the pan a minute or two after baking.
I’m sorry you had troubles, Julie! Tough cookies are usually a result of over-mixing. Dry cookies are usually a result of too much flour. You can read more about common cookie problems here.
Tried these again and they turned out much better. Â The browned butter really elevates these cookies.
So glad you liked the cookies, Julie! Brown butter is pretty magical. 😉
Hi,
Thank you for the recipe. I was wondering how many days in advance I could make the dough? Could it sit in the fridge for like 3 days? Or could I freeze them in balls then thaw overnight?
Thanks!
Hi, Lauren. Well-covered, you could chill it up to 3 days. Personally, I would rather portion and freeze them for anything longer than a day or two. They should keep for at least a couple of months that way.
I made these yesterday and they were perfect!Â
I had to substitute baking powder for baking soda and cream of tartar because I didn’t have any cream of tartar. I don’t think it made a difference. They were crisp outside and chewy inside.Â
The ratio I found online but basically in this recipe I used 4 tsp of baking powder.Â
The dough looked more wet than I was used to in a lot of cookies, but I didn’t doubt the recipe and they turned out perfectly!! Thank you for sharing this recipe.Â
Also I kept the brown bits in.Â
The brown butter flavor made the cookie taste just like my Mamaw’s cinnamon sugar toast as a child.Â
I’m glad you liked the cookies, Hope!