How to brown the butter:

Start by placing the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Cook slowly, stir occassionally and be patient. The butter can sputter and burn quickly if the heat is too high, so after about 5-10 minutes, the milk solids at the bottom of the pan should start to turn a “teddy bear brown” color and the surrounding liquid will become light amber. Once you reach this point, remove from the heat and let the butter cool off to room temperature. If you want to speed the cooling process up, stir the butter in a bowl over an ice bath or place in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.

How to form the dough before baking:

Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and use a flat surface, like the bottom of a drinking glass, to lightly press down on the top of the ball. You should have a small flat area where you can sprinkle on the sea salt.

What if my cookies are spreading too much?

The cookies should only spread and flatten out slightly. If the first batch spreads a little more than you'd like, pop the next batch of dough balls into the refrigerator for 15 extra minutes to chill before baking.

Brown Butter Shortbread Cookies - Mia's Kitchen Counter

Name: Brown Butter Shortbread Cookies
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 45 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, browned (NOTE: brown a few extra tablespoons and re-measure after browning, *see note below); 2 cups (240 grams) all-purpose flour; 1/8 teaspoon baking soda; 1 cup (213 grams) dark brown sugar; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; flakey sea salt

Description

Bite sized shortbread made with browned butter for a deep, flavorful twist.

Ingredients

Scale

1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, browned (NOTE: brown a few extra tablespoons and re-measure after browning, *see note below)
2 cups (240 grams) all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (213 grams) dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
flakey sea salt

Instructions

In a small skillet, brown the butter. Let cool to room temperature
Preheat the oven to 325°F.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour and baking soda. Set aside.
Once the butter has cooled, cream it with the brown sugar until slightly lighter in color.
Add the vanilla and mix until combined.
Combine the wet and dry mixtures. Mix until just combined.
Form 1 inch dough balls and place on a pan at least 2 inches apart. Flatten the tops just slightly with your hand or the bottom of a drinking glass.
Sprinkle a pinch of sea salt on top of each cookie and bake for 12-15 minutes until the cookies have spread just slightly and look dry to the touch. Let cool for 5-10 minutes.

Notes

*Make sure to measure the butter after browning it. A small amount of water evaporates during the browning process, so you will end up with slightly less than you started with. Enough to make a difference though! If I’m browning a stick of butter, I’ll usually brown an extra 3 tablespoons (~43 grams) to ensure I have enough in the end.
The dough WILL be crumbly, you’ll want to compact the dough balls as much as possible with your hands and very gently flatten the tops.
If you have a lot of trouble forming the dough, you can slowly add more melted butter a tablespoon at a time, but dough should still be somewhat crumbly, too much butter will make your cookies spread.

Keywords: Brown Butter, Cookies, Shortbread