Brown Butter Snickerdoodle Cookies
These bakery-style brown butter snickerdoodle cookies have crisp edges, dense and chewy centers, and a crackled cinnamon-sugar crust.
Ingredients
- 1 cup Butter browned, unsalted
- 1 ½ cups Granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon Cinnamon
- 1 Egg
- 1 Egg yolk
- 2 ½ cups Flour AP, plain flour
- 1 teaspoon Cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon Baking soda
Instructions
Brown the Butter & Cool
- Add the butter to a light-colored saucepan over medium heat. Light-colored pans allow you to monitor the color change accurately. Swirl the pan constantly as the butter melts, boils, and foams.
- Watch for the crackling sound to stop and for small golden-brown specks to form at the bottom of the pan. The butter will smell distinctly nutty.
- Immediately pour the brown butter (and all brown specks) into a heat-safe mixing bowl to stop the cooking process. Allow the brown butter to cool until it is lukewarm to the touch (around 15 to 20 minutes).
Mix the Dough
- Add the granulated sugar, kosher salt, and vanilla extract to the cooled brown butter. Whisk vigorously until smooth and combined.
- Add the room-temperature egg and egg yolk. Whisk until the mixture becomes slightly paler, smooth, and glossy.
- Sift the all-purpose flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar into the bowl. Fold gently with a rubber spatula until a cohesive dough forms and no dry flour streaks remain. Do not overmix.
Chill & Shape
- Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate the dough for at least 30 minutes to solidify the fats and prevent excess spreading.
- Preheat your oven to 180°C (350°F) and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar and ground cinnamon for the coating.
- Use a 1 ½-tablespoon cookie scoop to portion dough into balls. Roll each ball between your palms until smooth, then roll thoroughly in the cinnamon-sugar mixture until fully coated.
- Place the coated dough balls onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving 2 inches of space between each cookie.
Bake & Scoot
- Bake for 11 to 12 minutes, until the edges are set and golden brown, but the centers still look soft and slightly underbaked.
- The Cookie Scoot: Immediately upon pulling the tray from the oven, place a large round cookie cutter over a hot cookie and gently swirl it in a circular motion against the baking sheet for 3–5 seconds. This pulls in stray edges and creates a perfectly round, thick cookie.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Chill the Dough: Do not skip the 30-minute minimum chill. It solidifies the brown butter fat to prevent the cookies from spreading too flat in the oven.
- Cool the Brown Butter: Let the browned butter cool to lukewarm before adding the sugar and eggs. Hot butter will scramble the eggs and dissolve the sugar prematurely.
- Don't Omit Cream of Tartar: Cream of tartar is essential for authentic snickerdoodles; it provides the signature tangy flavor and reacts with baking soda to create a soft, chewy texture.
- The Cookie Scoot: Reshape the cookies immediately upon removing them from the oven by swirling a round cookie cutter around each hot cookie to pull in the edges.
- Maintaining Softness: Store baked cookies in an airtight container with a slice of white bread to keep them soft and chewy for up to 4 days.
Nutrition
Calories: 226kcalCarbohydrates: 30gProtein: 2gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.4gCholesterol: 47mgSodium: 211mgPotassium: 54mgFiber: 0.5gSugar: 17gVitamin A: 343IUVitamin C: 0.002mgCalcium: 9mgIron: 1mg
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