Browned Butter Vanilla Cookies Food

BROWNED BUTTER M & M COOKIES

Steps:

• Add one stick of butter to a medium skillet over medium heat. Allow it to melt and bubble up for 3 to 4 minutes, swirling the pan to keep the butter moving around. When the butter is a medium golden brown, remove the pan from the heat (it will continue browning in the pan over the next 30 seconds or so!) Pour butter (and any solids in the bottom of the pan) into a heatproof bowl and allow it to cool completely, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, allow the other stick of butter to soften. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees*.Cream the softened butter together with the brown sugar and regular sugar until it's nice and combined. Add the eggs and vanilla, and beat until smooth, scraping the bowl if necessary to make sure everything is incorporated. With the mixer on medium-low, slowly drizzle in the cooled melted butter, making sure to add all the darker brown solids. Scrape the bowl the mix again for 20-30 seconds, until everything is combined. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, coffee granules, baking soda and salt. Stir together, then add it in 1/3 increments, mixing on low, until it's totally incorporated. Scrape the bowl and beat for a few more seconds. Stir in the M&M's and the chocolate chips, if using. (I think using half chocolate chips, half M&M's would be perfect.) In batches, scoop by heaping teaspoon onto a baking sheet lined with a baking mat, Press 2 to 3 additional M&M's on top if desired. If you have time, refrigerate scooped dough for 10 minutes (if not, it's fine.) Bake for 7 to 8 minutes, or until deep golden brown. Wait a minute or two, then transfer cookies to a cooling rack. Repeat with the rest of the dough. Serve cookies with a big glass of cold milk!*You can bake at 350 for a little longer if you don't want the cookies to be quite so brown. (I like brown cookies!)

BROWN BUTTER COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Heat butter over medium heat for 5 minutes or so, until it turns nut brown in color. The foaming and bubbling is part of the browning process, but watch it carefully so that you don't burn the butter. Remove from heat, and cool slightly. Reserve 1/2 cup of the butter for the frosting.
• Pour remaining browned butter into a large mixing bowl. Beat browned butter with brown sugar until the butter is no longer hot. Mix in eggs, 2 teaspoons vanilla, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Beat thoroughly. Mix in flour and chopped pecans. Drop tablespoons of dough onto ungreased baking sheets.
• Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until light brown around the edges. Cool.
• In a medium bowl, mix the reserved 1/2 cup browned butter with 2 teaspoons vanilla, confectioners' sugar, and hot water. Beat until smooth, and use to frost cooled cookies.

BROWNED-BUTTER VANILLA COOKIES

Steps:

• Put eight ounces of the butter in a heavy saucepan. Allow the remainder to soften at room temperature. Split the vanilla beans, scrape the seeds into the butter in the pan and then add the pods.
• Put the pan over medium-high heat and cook for about five minutes, until the foam subsides and the butter stops bubbling and gives off a nutty aroma. Immediately transfer this mixture to a large, cool bowl and whisk for a few moments to prevent further cooking.
• Remove the pods and measure the still-warm butter. Add enough of the reserved butter to make the total equal one cup. Whisk to combine, cool to room temperature, cover tightly and chill until firm. Butter may be prepared several days in advance, if desired.
• Remove the butter from the refrigerator and let warm until malleable. Put it in a large mixing bowl and beat with a wooden spoon or the paddle attachment of an electric mixer until it is light and fluffy. Beat in the sugar, egg yolk and then, with as few strokes as possible, the flour. Add the nutmeats, if desired. Wrap and chill the dough.
• Divide the dough into quarters and work with one quarter at a time, keeping the others refrigerated. Lightly flour a work surface and on it flatten a piece of dough to a rectangle about one-half-inch thick. Fold it in half and compress it into a log roughly one-and-a-half inches thick. Press to be sure there are no air bubbles, trying not to overwork the dough. If it seems to be getting greasy, return it to the refrigerator for 15 minutes or so. Wrap the log in plastic wrap and freeze. Repeat with the remaining quarters.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Slice the frozen dough into cookies a bit more than one-half-inch thick (thinner ones will crumble) and place them one inch apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until the surfaces look dull and the cookies are very lightly browned. Allow them to cool on the sheet for three minutes, then carefully transfer to racks.