Chewy Hazelnut Brown Butter Sugar Cookies
By America's Test KitchenPublished on June 4, 2013
Time
1¼ hours, plus 20 minutes cooling
Yield
Makes 2 dozen cookies
Ingredients
Before You Begin
Be sure to transfer the butter from the hot skillet to the bowl with the cream cheese as soon as it has browned to prevent scorching. The final dough will be slightly softer than most cookie doughs. For the best results, handle it as briefly and as gently as possible; overworking the dough will result in flatter cookies.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in medium bowl. Set aside.
- Place 1½ cups sugar, hazelnuts, and cream cheese in large bowl. Place remaining 1/3 cup sugar in shallow baking dish or pie plate and set aside. Heat butter in 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat until melted, about 2 minutes. Continue to cook, swirling pan frequently, until butter is dark golden brown and has nutty aroma, 1 to 3 minutes. Pour butter over sugar and cream cheese mixture; whisk to combine (some small lumps of cream cheese will remain but will smooth out later). Whisk in oil until incorporated. Add egg and milk; continue to whisk until smooth. Add flour mixture and mix with rubber spatula until soft homogeneous dough forms.
- Divide dough into 24 equal pieces, about 2 tablespoons each. Using hands, roll dough into balls. Working in batches, roll balls in reserved sugar to coat and set on prepared baking sheet, 12 dough balls per sheet. Using bottom of drinking glass, flatten dough balls until 2 inches in diameter. Sprinkle tops evenly with 4 teaspoons reserved sugar (2 teaspoons per tray), discarding any remaining sugar.
- Bake, 1 tray at a time, until edges are set and just beginning to brown, 11 to 13 minutes, rotating tray after 7 minutes. Cool cookies on baking sheets 5 minutes. Using wide metal spatula, transfer cookies to wire rack and cool to room temperature.
Time
1¼ hours, plus 20 minutes coolingYield
Makes 2 dozen cookiesIngredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
For the satisfying chew we crave in sugar cookies, we melted the butter to free up its water content and also replaced some of the butter with vegetable oil for a higher proportion of unsaturated fat. For sophisticated, grown-up flavor, we browned the butter (which also evaporated a bit of its water) and added chopped, toasted hazelnuts to the dough, which brought a rich, nutty flavor component to our sugar cookies. A small amount of cream cheese contributed a slightly tangy counterpoint to the sugar without compromising the cookies' texture. As a bonus, its acidity enabled us to use an additional leavener, baking soda (it needs acid to work), which gave the cookies a beautiful, crackly surface. Adding the hot melted browned butter right to the cream cheese, rather than cooling it first, helped soften the cream cheese so that it incorporated easily.
Before You Begin
Be sure to transfer the butter from the hot skillet to the bowl with the cream cheese as soon as it has browned to prevent scorching. The final dough will be slightly softer than most cookie doughs. For the best results, handle it as briefly and as gently as possible; overworking the dough will result in flatter cookies.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in medium bowl. Set aside.
- Place 1½ cups sugar, hazelnuts, and cream cheese in large bowl. Place remaining 1/3 cup sugar in shallow baking dish or pie plate and set aside. Heat butter in 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat until melted, about 2 minutes. Continue to cook, swirling pan frequently, until butter is dark golden brown and has nutty aroma, 1 to 3 minutes. Pour butter over sugar and cream cheese mixture; whisk to combine (some small lumps of cream cheese will remain but will smooth out later). Whisk in oil until incorporated. Add egg and milk; continue to whisk until smooth. Add flour mixture and mix with rubber spatula until soft homogeneous dough forms.
- Divide dough into 24 equal pieces, about 2 tablespoons each. Using hands, roll dough into balls. Working in batches, roll balls in reserved sugar to coat and set on prepared baking sheet, 12 dough balls per sheet. Using bottom of drinking glass, flatten dough balls until 2 inches in diameter. Sprinkle tops evenly with 4 teaspoons reserved sugar (2 teaspoons per tray), discarding any remaining sugar.
- Bake, 1 tray at a time, until edges are set and just beginning to brown, 11 to 13 minutes, rotating tray after 7 minutes. Cool cookies on baking sheets 5 minutes. Using wide metal spatula, transfer cookies to wire rack and cool to room temperature.
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