Y’all…Browned Butter deserves a holiday.  Actually, the first person to create something with browned butter deserves some type of peace prize and a holiday.  I do wonder if it was a mistake, as my first experience with browned butter happened because I simply forgot all about the butter that was melting on “low” until it began to smell rich and nutty.  Either way, some recognition is due that person!

In the spirit of Valentines(or whatever excuse I have), this week I knew that I’d be making chocolate dipped sugar cookies.  My sugar cookie recipe already has the richness of brown sugar, why not brown the butter for this recipe?  So that’s what I did…The result?  A lot of the dough went missing before it was baked.

Prepare dough, flatten in plastic wrap, and chill until ready to bake.

If chilled, rolled out, and chilled again, you’ll get perfectly shaped cookies when baked…I promise 🙂

Dip in chocolate or squiggle with chocolate…No professional tools needed for the squiggles, see that zip-loc sandwich bag?!

Allow chocolate to harden before serving.

Browned Butter Sugar Cookies
Makes 2 1/2 dozen 2-inch cookies

1/2 cup unsalted butter, browned and completely chilled*
1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

4 ounces dark or semi-sweet chocolate, melted

*To brown butter:  Heat butter in a saucepan on very low heat.  Once completely melted, continue heating until golden brown(do not over brown..it’ll be burnt!), stirring occasionally, about 8-10 minutes.  Transfer to a small bowl and refrigerate until butter is chilled and almost firm, about 30 minutes

In a large bowl, combine browned butter, brown sugar, and sugar, beating until light and fluffy.  Add egg and vanilla, continue beating until smooth.  Stir in flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until completely combined.  Place dough onto plastic wrap and flatten to a disk, wrap tightly and refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 degree.  Cut dough in half, working with half and refrigerating the remaining piece.  Lightly flour dough and roll out to 1/4-inch thickness between two pieces of parchment paper. Remove top piece of parchment paper and use a 2-inch heart shaped cutter to create cookies.  Keep together on parchment and return to refrigerator to chill for 15 minutes.  Transfer shapes onto a lined cookie sheet, 2 inches apart.  Bake for 8 minutes.  Allow cookies to cool on tray for 3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack for complete cooling.  Repeat process with scraps and remaining dough.

Dip cookies half-way into melted chocolate, allowing excess to drip back into the bowl.  Place on parchment, allowing to chocolate to harden before serving.  If there are any left to store, place them in an airtight container with waxed paper or parchment paper between each layer of cookies.