Salted Brown Butter Sugar Cookies

This is kind of a big deal.

First off, so my blog is officially one year old as of the 9th.  Happy First Birthday to...Blog!  Secondly, that last post, I failed to mention but it was number 100.  Thank you for listening to (reading?) everything I have rambled on about, made fun of, and got a little too excited over for the last one hundred entries,...mom and dad.

And thank you, Nathan, for being my number one taste-tester.  And for paying me that awfully wonderful compliment over the weekend: "you know how some people are known for a certain recipe like their spaghetti sauce?  You're going to be known for a whole arsenal!"  (Why bother paraphrasing when I can repeat those delicious words verbatim.)  I think these cookies will be going into said arsenal, as they were devoured within twenty-four hours- we're talking breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  Even after a habenero-infused taco dinner, which upset the tummy, Nathan reached for the cookies ("just. one. cookie. ughhhh.").  And the following morning?  ("I'm still so fulllllll.  But I need just. one. cookie").  Poof!  All gone. 

Salted Brown Butter Sugar Cookies

Makes 17 cookies

1/2 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup white sugar

1 egg plus 1 egg yolk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

For rolling:

3 tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  

To brown butter: place butter in a small saucepan over medium heat and immediately begin whisking. Stir as it bubbles, and after 2-3 minutes or so you should see brown bits appear on the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat immediately and continue to whisk for another 30 seconds or use.  Let cool slightly.

Transfer butter to a large mixing bowl and with an electric mixer or whisk, mix in the sugars until smooth and well-combined. Add the egg, yolk and vanilla, and mix until smooth.  In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Gradually add them to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.

Combine the 3 tablespoons of sugar and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a shallow dish. Scoop dough into equal 1-inch sized portions, roll into balls and coat in salt-sugar mixture. Place dough balls an inch apart on parchment or silpat-lined cookie sheets.  Bake for 12-14 minutes or until bottoms of the cookies are golden.  Let cool completely before removing from baking sheet.

Adapted from The Baker Chick.