Brown Butter Snickerdoodles Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Does browning butter make a difference in cookies? ›

As you melt butter in a hot skillet and then let it bubble, its amino acids (the building blocks of proteins) react with its sugars to create new, nutty-flavored, brown-colored (and very delicious) compounds that add even more flavor to the classic snickerdoodle.

Begin stirring to move the butter around as it melts. Once melted, the butter will begin to foam and sizzle around the edges. Keep stirring. In about 5–8 minutes from when you started (depending on the amount of butter you used), the butter will turn golden brown.

Let the brown butter cool sufficiently.

Using hot, melted butter will yield greasy dough and cause the cookies to spread too much when baked. By allowing the butter to solidify before adding it to the dough, you're able to bake the cookies immediately—no chill time required.

We recommend using a shiny pan with a silver finish or a cermaic coated pan because it allows you to see the transition as the butter melts down and changes color from light to dark golden brown more easily.

Most importantly, browned butter adds rich nutty flavour to cookies. It also reduces the free moisture in the cookie recipe to make them extra dense and chewy. It's important to have a balance though, because if there isn't enough moisture, then cookies can be dry.

With less water, you also end up with less gluten development, thus a cookie made with browned butter is softer and more tender than one made with creamed or plain melted butter.

Watch butter closely. The color will progress from a bright yellow to a golden tan, then quickly to a deep golden brown. When you smell a nutty aroma, butter is deep golden brown and browned milk solids appear in bottom of pan, take pan off the heat. Immediately transfer browned butter to heat-proof bowl.

A stick of butter (US) weighs 113 g. Post browning it will weigh about 83 grams. 1 (one) tablespoon of butter weighs 14 grams so you're losing almost 2 tablespoons (28 g) of butter through the browning process. This happens because liquid in the butter evaporates.

Baking powder or flour in excess will cause cookies to rise more, making them more fluffy and cakey. Increased sugar will make them caramelize more and increased fat will make the dough heavier and richer, all increasing retention of water in the dough- these all add up to chewier cookies.

Why do my cookies go flat when I take them out of the oven? ›

If your cookies come out of the oven looking flat, you may not have adequately chilled the dough before baking. Chilling times may vary depending on the cookie you're making, but you should typically chill cookie dough in the refrigerator for at least two hours before you pop it in the oven.

Use a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Coating your baking sheet with nonstick spray or butter creates an overly greasy foundation, causing the cookies to spread. I always recommend a silicone baking mat because they grip onto the bottom of your cookie dough, preventing the cookies from spreading too much.

Immediately transfer the butter to a medium bowl to prevent burning (you do not want to burn your butter!), making sure you scrape all the butter from the pan. Set the butter aside to cool for 10 minutes or until cool enough to touch before adding it to a recipe.

The actual melted butter liquid won't brown, but rather, the milk solids will begin to brown at the bottom of a pan. Use a heat-proof spatula to stir the browning milk solids off the bottom of the pan so they brown more slowly and evenly.

Browned butter has a sweet and savory flavor, almost like toffee, which makes these cookies rich, delicious, and a little caramelly!

Brown butter adds a rich, slightly nutty, caramel flavor to baked goods that makes everything extra delicious.

During the process of browning, much of the water evaporates from the butter. So if you start out with 1 cup of butter, you'll be left with just a hair over 3/4 cup of butter. You'll lose a couple tablespoons in the process. This is the evaporating effect.

Unsalted butter gives you complete control of the overall flavor of your recipe. This is especially important in certain baked goods where the pure, sweet cream flavor of butter is key (butter cookies or pound cakes). As it pertains to cooking, unsalted butter lets the real, natural flavor of your foods come through.