Brown Butter Bourbon Spice Cookies

I can’t help but love the flavors of the season.  And it hit me this weekend, when it was a bit chilly out, that this is the season for brown butter.  Ok, so there really isn’t a season that’s not for brown butter.  But if any are, it’s fall.  It’s the perfect color, the smell is very autumn-like and who doesn’t want to warm up in front of the stove while waiting for those little golden specks to appear?  I found myself doing just that this weekend.  I don’t drink a lot, especially bourbon.  But we had some in the house for a recipe that I developed a couple weeks ago.  So I had been toying with the idea of a bourbon cookie for a while when it hit me: brown butter bourbon spice cookies.  At that point, my heart was set, the idea was solid and I instantly set about browning some butter.

These cookies did a fabulous job warming me up and they really just made me more excited for what is to come this fall.  I spent the weekend, as I do a lot of weekends, in the kitchen.  I made homemade pumpkin puree, roasted pumpkin seeds, chicken tortilla soup, and some fall-inspired granola and these heart-warming brown butter bourbon spice cookies.  You can say that my house is in full-fall swing.  I hope you are ready for it!

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Brown Butter Bourbon Spice Cookies Recipe

Yield: 14-16 large cookies

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

A fall-inspired cookie recipe with warm brown butter, sweet bourbon and spicy hints of nutmeg, cinnamon and allspice.

Ingredients:

12 Tbs. (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, browned (see note below) & cooled
2 1/2 cups (11 1/4 ounces by weight) flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. allspice
1/2 cup (3.5 ounces by weight) dark brown sugar
1/2 cup (3.5 ounces by weight) light brown sugar
1/2 cup (3.5 ounces by weight) granulated sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
3 tsp. vanilla
2 Tbs. Bourbon

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line two large baking sheets with a Silpat liner or parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice together until blended. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, add all of the sugars, along with the cooled brown butter and, using a paddle attachment, mix until well-blended. It won't be creamy like a normal cookie batter. Add the egg, egg yolk and vanilla and mix until combined. With the mixer on low sweet, add the bourbon and mix until it is distributed.

Slowly add the dry ingredients and mix just until incorporated. Using a 2 3/4-ounce ice cream scoop, scoop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes until the cookies are just done on the edges.

Cool for about 5 minutes on the cookie sheet before transferring to a wire rack.

Cassie's Notes:
To brown the butter: place butter pieces in a small sauce pan over medium heat. When the butter begins to foam, stir with a wire whisk and continue to whisk constantly. The color will begin to change and you'll see some brown flakes on the bottom of the pan. Continue to stir until the butter has a nutty fragrance and is golden brown. Remove from the heat and stir until the foam subsides. The whole process will take 8-10 minutes. Be patient!