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Active Time
2 hours
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Total Time
3 hours (includes chilling)
Just reading the words "salted brown butter" is enough to tickle your taste buds. But making salted brown butter the flavor base of a cookie will turn your holiday cookie swap into the hottest, hippest party in town. Thankfully, the dough is a dream to roll out, and it's strong enough to keep the shape of the cookie-cutters you use, no matter how intricate. Want to hang them on the tree? Just cut a little hole before baking with the narrow end of a pastry bag tip. Keep this recipe handy for when you've got a houseful of kids on a school break and need a project to get them off their cell phones!
Editor's Note:This recipe is part ofGourmet'sModern Menu for Holiday Cookie Craze. Menu also includesCoconut Macaroon Sandwiches with Lime CurdandPistachio Cranberry Oatmeal Icebox Cookies.
Ingredients
Makes about 3 dozen (3- to 4-inch) cookies
Cookies:
Icing:
Garnish:
Special Equipment
Make cookies:
Step 1
融化的黄油在1 - 2夸脱深沉重的平底锅medium-low heat, then cook over low heat, swirling pan occasionally, until butter has a nutty aroma and is a rich brown color, and bottom of pan is speckled with browned bits of the milk solids, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, including browned milk solids on bottom, and chill until almost firm, about 30 minutes.
Step 2
Whisk together flour and cornstarch in a bowl. Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, then beat in egg, salt, and vanilla. Add flour mixture and mix on low speed until just combined well.
Step 3
Form dough into 2 balls and flatten each into a 6-inch disk. Chill disks, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firmer, but not hard, 15 to 30 minutes.
Step 4
Heat oven to 350°F with rack in middle position. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Step 5
Roll out 1 disk of dough (keep remaining dough chilled) between 2 large sheets of wax paper 1/8 inch thick (this is when the rolling pin rings are really helpful). Freeze or chill dough on a baking sheet or tray until firm, 5 to 15 minutes, then cut out as many cookies as possible from dough. Transfer cookies to lined baking sheet, arranging cookies about 1 inch apart. If the cookies become too warm to transfer, freeze or chill until firm (see Cooks' notes).
Step 6
Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until edges are golden, 8 to 10 minutes, then transfer to racks to cool completely.
Step 7
Meanwhile, gather scraps of dough and repeat cookie process above. Parchment can be reused, but make sure baking sheet cools between batches. Make more cookies with remaining dough.
Make icing:
Step 8
Beat together all ingredients in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until just combined, about 1 minute.
Step 9
Increase speed to high and continue to beat until icing holds stiff peaks, about 3 minutes in a stand mixer or 10 minutes with a handheld. If not using icing immediately, cover surface with a dampened paper towel, then cover bowl with plastic wrap.
Step 10
Transfer icing to a heavy-duty resealable bag and press out excess air. Snip a 1/8-inch opening in bottom corner of bag, then twist bag firmly just above icing and decoratively pipe icing onto cookies. If desired, sprinkle with sanding sugars or colorful sea salts while icing is still wet. (For tinted icing, see Cooks' notes.)
Step 11
Let icing dry completely (about 1 hour) before storing cookies.
•Dough can be chilled up to 3 days.
•Rolling pin rings allow you to roll out your dough to an even thickness without bothering with rulers. And an evenly rolled-out dough makes for evenly baked cookies.
•For the sharpest, cleanest edges, freeze or chill cut cookies until firm before baking.
•Cookies keep, layered between sheets of wax paper or parchment, in a metal cookie tin at room temperature 1 week.
•Meringue powder can be found in the baking section of large craft stores, such as Michael's, or on Amazon.com.
•Icing can be made 1 day ahead and chilled, its surface covered with dampened paper towel and bowl covered with plastic wrap.
•To tint icing, transfer 1/4 cup icing to a small bowl for each color and tint with food coloring. Spoon each color of icing into a resealable bag, pressing out excess air, and proceed as described above.
Leave a Review
Reviews (10)
Back to TopThis recipe is the bomb. The dough appears crumbly but just keep going - chill it, roll it out, it will be fine. I have made 12 dozen cut-out cookies with this recipe and get raving compliments each time. My go-to recipe from now on!
Alexis
New York, NY
11/24/2021
Can someone explain how you are supposed to roll these out?? The dough barely holds together and is so dry! Is there something missing in the ingredients list?
juliecbrownotr9260
12/17/2017
Perfect shortbread- sweet and a little salted caramel flavor- buttery and perfect crumb texture. Kids loved them even before we got a chance to ice them.
shelbean
Sacramento, CA
11/23/2014
These are my mother's cookies
epi_test_63
3/6/2014
Very light and crumbly cookies. I added lots more lemon in the frosting for flavor. This is a lot of work and I'm not crazy about them. There's nothing wrong with it, it's just my personal taste.
robingurney1
1/15/2014
The dough smells heavenly, but it's so dry and crumbly I have no idea how to roll it out.
moonbeanjo
San Francisco, CA
12/22/2013
You mix it in to a large mixing bowl with the brown sugar, salt, egg and vanilla. The directions just refer to it as "butter" not burnt butter.
JGold1
12/18/2013
I don't see where the burnt butter is incorporated into the recipe.
Judithgiana
12/17/2013
As long as you follow the steps as they are given, the recipe works GREAT! I found the secret is the chill. These are not something you do in a hurry. They were tasty and the kids loved decorating them.
nannienancy
Moultrie, Georgia
12/17/2013
These are my mother's cookies. She made them as long as I can remember every year for the holidays, loads and loads of them, except she uses the old hand-cranked spritz maker. The crackled edges on the spritz make the cookies taste even better. I never did like the rolled out version I made some years ago. And my modern spritz maker wasn't cut out for the job, the dough is pretty tough and it broke it. So, now, I just go home for the cookies.
Anonymous
las cruces, nm
12/17/2013
