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Brown Butter Snickerdoodles Cookies taste like a soft cinnamon sugar caramel cookie.
I have been playing in my kitchen like crazy these days. I wake up in the wee hours of the morning and start baking. This Brown Butter Snickerdoodle Cookie recipe has been one that I have been experimenting with this week. Brown butter is phenomenal in cookies and give such a depth of flavor.
I was inspired by Two Peas Brown Butter Snickerdoodles but tweaked her recipe quite a bit after playing around with it. These Best Brown Butter Snickerdoodles Cookies are so addicting. I can’t leave them alone!
One of my most popular cookie recipes are my famous Snickerdoodles. Here’s a browned butter version.
So what makes a perfect Brown Butter Snickerdoodle cookie?
Brown Butter Snickerdoodles are made with golden brown butter simmered on the stove, dark brown sugar to make them extra chewy and give that extra depth of flavor, and sugar to add that nice, crispy edge.
Browning butter is a huge game changer in these Snickerdoodle cookies. When melting the butter on the stove, it is important to watch it carefully. It can turn from perfectly golden brown to burnt pretty quickly. I just look for a few brown bits to form along the edge of the skillet. Once it is a golden color and starts to foam, remove it from heat and let it cool for a few minutes before adding it to the mixer.
This recipe calls for two types of leavening agents — cream of tartar and baking soda. Cream of tartar is responsible for snickedoodle cookies well known subtle tang. When it is combined with baking soda, it gives the perfect amount of rise and allows it to puff in the middle without being cakey.
One of the biggest tips and secrets I can give you is to double coat your cookie dough with the cinnamon-sugar mixture. This is one of the keys to making out of this world brown butter snickerdoodles. Roll your dough into a ball and then coat it with the cinnamon sugar mixture. Repeat the process and coat it again on all sides.
This is what gives the cookie layers of cinnamon flavor so it doesn’t just taste like a sugar cookie with a sprinkle of cinnamon on it. I also add 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon in the dough which gives it a touch of cinnamon flavor from within the cookie.
The cookie has to be soft. I have eaten way too many hockey pucks in my life disguised as snickerdoodles. Do not overbake these cookies. These cinnamon sugar babies need to be soft on the inside with a nice crispy outside edge.
If you love chai spices, check out my Chai Snickerdoodle Cookies.
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Brown Butter Snickerdoodles Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup Butter melted in skillet
- 1 cup + 2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
- 1/2 cup Sugar
- 1 Egg
- 1 Egg Yolk
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- 1/4 teaspoon Cinnamon
- 2 1/2 cups Flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Cream of Tartar
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
Cinnamon-Sugar Topping:
- 1/3 cup Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Cinnamon
Instructions
- Heat a medium saucepan or skillet over medium heat, add butter. Stir often and watch carefully as butter starts to melt and turn a golden color. Watch for brown bits to form along edge of pan and the butter start to turn frothy. Once it turns a gold color, remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes.
- In a large mixing bowl, add dark brown sugar and sugar. Carefully pour in melted butter. Cream for 4-5 minutes.
- Add 1 egg, 1 egg yolk, and vanilla and cream for 1 minute.
- Add cinnamon, flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt.
- Form the dough into a ball and cover with plastic wrap. Chill for at least 30 minutes or preferably overnight.
- Once you are ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. In small bowl, stir together sugar and cinnamon. Roll cookie dough into a desired size ball. Roll each cookie dough ball in the cinnamon sugar mixture and double coat it.
- Place cookies on parchment or silpat lined cookie sheets.
- Bake for 8-11 minutes. Allow to cool for several minutes before moving to cooling racks.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Happy Baking, my friends! xo
This is amazingggg.. seriously. It’s a pretty straightforward and simple recipe so it’s quick and easy to make (the hardest part is browning the butter). The result is a delicious cookie with a deepened flavor that cannot compare to any other snickerdoodle recipe I’ve tried. TRY THIS!
I love the brown butter in these cookies…..and not cooking them too long is the key. Thanks for another great recipe!
Can you use margarine instead of butter
these are delicous. Not too sweet, just enough tang and the background nuttiness from the brown butter…….just amazing. I had some concerns, as I don’t have a Kitchen Aid…….used a food processor (have had success using it for cakes) and was concerned about the texture of the dough. But they came out great. Yum…..will make again.
LOVE this recipe. Have it bookmarked on all of my devices. The browned butter makes such a big difference in the taste.
I gave the recipe a 4 for taste and a 2 for prep. I have been baking my whole life and I have made snickerdoodles many times. I followed the recipe exactly and when I got the dough out to shape the cookies I had to use a sharp knife to cut them into chunks so I could roll them. The sugar would not stick so I placed the dough balls in a large bowl and sprayed them with cooking spray and then placed them in a large plastic bag with the cinnamon sugar mixture. Then I had to mash them down so the looked like a cookie. They taste wonderful but the next time I make them I may try to cut back on the flour to improve the dough texture.
My dough came out very dry and crumbly. When I added the browned butter to the sugar mix, it didn’t cream. Did I do something wrong? I followed all the directions and used the correct ingredients and measurements. Is it normal for the dough to be quite dry and crumbly after everything has been mixed?
You probably browned the butter a little too long. That has happened to me before. The first time I used brown butter in a cookie recipe, they were very dry and crumbly and I could tell right away it was from over browning the butter.
I hope this helps
THESE ARE MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE!!!! the texture is amazing, taste is amazing, amount of cookies is perfect. i have bookmarked it onto my computer and it will be tradition now. i wish i could give it more than five stars.
I made these and they are delicious! I’ve actually never had snickerdoodles before. Getting ready to make them again.
No wonder Julia has been talking about snickerdoodles lately! She probably ate the most perfect snickerdoodles at your house.