I am a nut for a frosted cookie. My favorite cookie of all time is the unassuming holiday cut-out cookie with the frosting on top. So, while paging through Wendy Paul’s cookbook the other day, this recipe jumped off the page. A sugar cookie (another fave) topped with frosting, and not just any frosting, but one in which browned butter is used. This, I thought to myself, had to be a winner. It is! Alone the cookie is delicious, but when topped with this complex and delicious-tasting frosting, it is a work of art.
Browned Butter Crinkles
From 101 Gourmet Cookies for Everyone
by Wendy Paul
by Wendy Paul2 sticks butter, softened
1 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
3 egg yolks
1 ½ teaspoon soda
1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/3 cups flour
Beat the butter and sugar together. Add the egg yolks and salt. Then add the soda and the extract. Fold in the flour. Stir until combined. Form balls the size of walnuts. Chill dough balls for 1 hour in the refrigerator. Dip the top in sugar. Press flat with the bottom of a glass and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350° F for 8-10 minutes until the edges are lightly golden. Remove from oven and let the cookies stand for 1 minute on the cookie sheet. Remove to a wire rack and cool completely. Frost with browned butter frosting.
Browned Butter Frosting
1 stick butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 cups powdered sugar
½ cup heavy cream or more desired consistency
In a small skillet, brown butter over medium heat until golden brown flecks appear. Butter will become a little foamy. Stir now and then to make the butter cooks evenly. Remove from heat and cool slightly. Add powdered sugar, vanilla and cream. Beat on medium high until a creamy texture to your liking forms. Spread onto cooled butter crinkles.
In a small skillet, brown butter over medium heat until golden brown flecks appear. Butter will become a little foamy. Stir now and then to make the butter cooks evenly. Remove from heat and cool slightly. Add powdered sugar, vanilla and cream. Beat on medium high until a creamy texture to your liking forms. Spread onto cooled butter crinkles.
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Look at those delicious flecks of browned butter in the frosting. |
