At Your Own Risk, Brown Sugar Cookies

I am going to warn you up front, these cookies are irresistible. I was looking for a recipe that I had all the ingredients for. Sugar cookies are normally my fall back cookie, but that seemed kinda boring. I Googled brown sugar cookies and found this recipe that had rave reviews. Now I am going to share it with you, but you've been warned, I am not liable for any diet meltdowns. Chewy on the inside, crispy on the outside, and a rich, caramely flavor in every delectable bite.

The browned butter seems to be key. I am not sure what the science of baking means that it does to the cookie, but it adds amazing flavor, don't skip that step. I also don't know why the salt is added with the brown sugar, rather than the flour.

Another thing, my butter took closer to 6 minutes to brown, so don't worry if yours takes longer than the recipe says. My butter had little brown bits floating in it, so I think that is how it is supposed to look??

I also sprinkled just a tiny bit of sea salt on the top of the cookies after I rolled them in the brown sugar mix. It makes for a great sweet/salty contrast!

Brown Sugar Cookies

Ingredients
14 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 3/4 sticks)
1/4 cup granulated sugar (about 1 3/4 ounces)
2 cups packed dark brown sugar (14 ounces)
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour plus 2 tablespoons (about 10 1/2 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Preparation
Heat 10 tablespoons of the butter in a pan over medium-high heat until melted. Continue to cook the butter until it is browned a dark golden color and smells nutty, about 1 to 3 minutes. Transfer the browned butter to a bowl and stir the rest of the butter into the hot butter until it melts- let this rest for 15 min.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a baking dish, mix granulated sugar and a ¼ cup of the brown sugar until combined well; set this mixture aside to roll dough balls in.

Mix flour, baking soda, and baking powder in a bowl. Add 1 ¾ cup brown sugar and salt to cooled butter and mix until there are no lumps. Add egg, yolk, and vanilla to butter mixture and mix well, then add flour and mix until just combined.

Roll dough into balls about 1 ½ inches in diameter, and roll balls in brown sugar and white sugar mixture. Place balls about 2 inches apart on parchment lined baking sheets.

Bake sheets one at a time until cookies are puffy and lightly browned, about 12- 14 minutes. (It says the cookies will look slightly raw between some of the cracks and seem underdone, but be careful not to over bake.) Cool on sheet for about 5 minutes and then transfer to a rack to cool.

Recipe from Cook’s Illustrated