Browned Butter Snickerdoodles

I have never had a snickerdoodle cookie. Which is weird because when I was in India I was obsessed with trying it out. When my friend and I wanted to open our own thing (back in 2009)- I wanted to include it in our menu, even though I had never tried it. I had only seen and read about it online. No bakery in India (as far as I was aware) sold these cookies. My friend could not understand my obsession with it, but anything with cinnamon sugar and I am already in love with it.

I really wanted to try a snickerdoodle from a good bakery before I made it at home to know how it should actually taste. But somehow it has always slipped my mind when I am out, and I have ended up trying other things. So I decided to try it out anyway.

Now, I am one of my worst critics. And thats why writing a food blog makes it even a bigger task than it is. Because deciding what I cook or bake is worth putting up on the blog is always a difficult task.

With cooking more or less I have to trust what V’s judgement of the dish, since for most things he is the only recipe tester. But then he always has nice things to say for what I cook- which is sweet because that encourages me to experiment. But then always leaves me in a dilemma.

With baking, since 99% of the time I send my baked goods to V’s office, I base a recipe’s success with the response V gets from his colleagues. I am aware that generally people will never say anything bad about someone’s cooking or baking, so that’s why I ask V questions like did people come for another piece or if somebody in particular praised it a lot. And then if someone specially comes specially to tell V later how good something was I know for sure the recipe was a success.

With these cookies, I wasn’t sure whether the recipe was a success or not. I am not even sure whether it tasted like a snickerdoodle- since I have never tried an actual snickerdoodle. The 2 tsp cream of tartar in the recipe made the cookies taste a little tangy, lemony. I actually liked the taste and ended up eating more than my share of cookies- you know to be doubly sure I liked them enough to send them. I was still not sure but then I did not want to keep dozens of cookies in my house, so I sent them anyway.

When V came back the next day from work, he said these were a hit. People had 2-3 cookies in V’s meeting and later when he put the cookies that were still left in the hallway, someone came to tell him to let me know how good they were. I have to admit, they actually tasted better the next day.

And oh, by the way, browned butter in cookies- its amazing! I have used it in chocolate chip cookies and now in these. Cant wait to try more browned butter in my baking recipes.

I would still like to try these cookies without the cream of tartar though because the tangy taste kind of overpowered the cinnamon taste and thats why when I first tried them I thought I wont post the recipe. But after hearing the response they got in V’s office I changed that thought.

That said, I will still try them with a lower amount of cream of tartar or none at all and update this recipe when I do. Also, having obsessed over them online, I realize the shape of my cookies was puffier than the original. I did not mind that. They were the perfect combination of soft, chewy and slightly crispy around the edges, and slightly cake-y.

3.0 from 2 reviews

Browned Butter Snickerdoodles

 

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Prep time

40 mins

Cook time

10 mins

Total time

50 mins

 

Author: Adapted from therecipecritic.com

Serves: 20-24

Ingredients

• 2½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp cream of tartar
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• pinch nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, sliced
• 1¼ cup dark brown sugar
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp plain Greek yogurt
• 1 cup english toffee bits

For rolling the cookies in cinnamon sugar:

• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• Coarse Sea salt for sprinkling on completed cookies

Instructions

1. In a bowl, sift the flour, salt, baking soda, cream of tarter, cinnamon. Mix well and set aside.
2. To brown the butter, melt the butter in a saucepan on medium high heat, whisking frequently. The butter will first become frothy and brown specks will form along the bottom. you have to watch it carefully as the butter turns from light brown to burnt very quickly. You will start to smell a nutty aroma and once it turns to a brown color, remove from heat and let it cool to room temperature.
3. In a stand mixer, combine the brown butter and brown sugar, and ½ cup granulated sugar. Mix until blended and smooth.
4. Beat in the full egg, yolk, vanilla and yogurt and mix until combined. Slowly add the dry ingredients until combined. Fold in the english toffee bits.
5. Form the dough into a ball and cover with plastic. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or overnight.
6. Preheat oven to 350 F.
7. Mix ¼ cup sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.
8. Take about 2 tbsp of dough and roll into a ball. Flatten the ball and roll each cookie in the mixture. Place cookies on a parchment lined cookie sheet 2 inches apart. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt.
9. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the edges turn lightly brown. The centers will be soft. Allow to cool for 2-3 minutes, and transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

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