Brown Butter Snickerdoodles

I was excited to receive a baking book for Christmas from Mr. Ramon - Baked Elements: Our 10 Favorite Ingredients. I have already been baking my way through another of their books - Baked Explorations: Classic American Desserts Reinvented for the last year. In my eyes Matt and Renato of Baked can do no wrong. They continue to push the envelope of flavor and texture and always amaze me. I love to follow them on Facebook - when I am just waking up they are already posting delicious pictures of what the bakery is offering for the day. If you love drooling over baked goods - I recommend following them! 

I have several clients that I bake assorted cookies and bars for regularly so I scanned through my new book for something to add in to my rotation. I came across their recipe for Brown Butter Snickerdoodles. I love a snickerdoodle. This is a cookie that I remember often from my childhood. When I bake classic cookies I like to see how to take them to the next level - make them the adult version of what you remember as a child. That could mean adding rum, a little more salt or in this case browning the butter for a deeper flavor. 

I am always happy with the results of the Baked recipes and this was no exception. My house was filled with the scent of brown butter and cinnamon. Yum! I hope you get a chance to make these - you will enjoy them as much as my clients did!

Brown Butter Snickerdoodles

Makes about 24 cookies

For the cookies:

1 cup unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 & 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon milk
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

For the cinnamon-sugar:
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Place butter in a medium skillet. Cook over medium heat, swirling occasionally, until butter melts and foams. Continue cooking until the foam subsides, brown specks form in the bottom of the pan, and the butter turns nut brown (8-10 minutes).

Pour butter 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 flour, cream of tartar, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

Combine eggs and milk in a small bowl. Whisk lightly.

Turn off mixer when butter has cooled to room temperature. Add sugar and brown sugar. Beat at medium for about 2 minutes. Stop Mixer and scrape down sides of bowl. Turn mixer speed to low and pour in egg mixture. Beat until well-combined.

Add flour mixture in three portions, beating just until combined after each addition.

Gather dough into a mound in the bowl. Cover bowl and refrigerate at least an hour, or up to 24 hours.

Preheat oven to 400°. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Stir together cinnamon-sugar ingredients in a wide-mouth bowl.

Using about 2 tablespoons of dough at a time, roll dough into balls. Roll each ball in cinnamon-sugar to coat. Place cookies about 1 & 1/2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets.

Bake for 10 minutes, or until cookies are cracked and set. Let cool on sheets for 10 minutes then transfer to cooling racks to cool completely. 

Recipe modified from: Baked Elements