Brown Sugar Cookies
Dec. 26th, 2009 01:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
aseBrown Sugar Cookies
From Cook's Illustrated
When I made these, they came out of the oven fairly soft, but hardened so much they were only really edible as "dipping cookies" (dip in milk / drink of choice) the next day. If you think the only way to eat cookies is with milk, this is fantastic, because they do a great job absorbing liquid and softening into crumbly deliciousness, but if you like your cookies without milk these aren't as good. Note: before/after pictures not only not particularly to scale, they're probably not even on the same scale relative to each other.
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)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1. Heat 10 tablespoons butter in 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat until melted, about 2 minutes(2). Continue to cook, swirling pan constantly until butter is dark golden brown and has nutty aroma, 1 to 3 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and transfer browned butter to large heatproof bowl. Stir remaining 4 tablespoons butter into hot butter to melt; set aside for 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 large (18 by 12-inch) baking sheets with parchment paper. In shallow baking dish or pie plate(3), mix granulated sugar and 1/4 cup packed brown sugar, rubbing between fingers, until well combined; set aside. Whisk flour, baking soda, and baking powder together in medium bowl; set aside.
3. Add remaining 1 3/4 cups brown sugar and salt to bowl with cooled butter; mix until no sugar lumps remain, about 30 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl with rubber spatula; add egg, yolk, and vanilla and mix until fully incorporated, about 30 seconds. Scrape down bowl. Add flour mixture and mix until just combined, about 1 minute. Give dough final stir with rubber spatula to ensure that no flour pockets remain and ingredients are evenly distributed.(4)
4. Divide dough into 24 portions, each about 2 tablespoons, rolling between hands into balls about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Working in batches, toss balls in reserved sugar mixture to coat and set on prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart, 12 dough balls per sheet. (Smaller baking sheets can be used, but it will take 3 batches.)
5. Bake one sheet at a time(5) until cookies are browned and still puffy and edges have begun to set but centers are still soft (cookies will look raw between cracks and seem underdone), 12 to 14 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking. Do not overbake.
6. Cool cookies on baking sheet 5 minutes; using wide metal spatula, transfer cookies to wire rack and cool to room temperature.
(1)I haven't figured out what to do with the white. When I was a kid we'd make angel food cake and yellow cake at the same time to solve this problem, but so far no really elegant solution for the One White Problem has presented itself.
(2)Like a fool, I dumped in all 14 tablespoons at the beginning.
(3)Or a big plate.
(4)By then it's pretty stiff.
(5)Uh, yeah, I sort of skipped that part too.
From Cook's Illustrated
When I made these, they came out of the oven fairly soft, but hardened so much they were only really edible as "dipping cookies" (dip in milk / drink of choice) the next day. If you think the only way to eat cookies is with milk, this is fantastic, because they do a great job absorbing liquid and softening into crumbly deliciousness, but if you like your cookies without milk these aren't as good. Note: before/after pictures not only not particularly to scale, they're probably not even on the same scale relative to each other.
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)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1. Heat 10 tablespoons butter in 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat until melted, about 2 minutes(2). Continue to cook, swirling pan constantly until butter is dark golden brown and has nutty aroma, 1 to 3 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and transfer browned butter to large heatproof bowl. Stir remaining 4 tablespoons butter into hot butter to melt; set aside for 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 large (18 by 12-inch) baking sheets with parchment paper. In shallow baking dish or pie plate(3), mix granulated sugar and 1/4 cup packed brown sugar, rubbing between fingers, until well combined; set aside. Whisk flour, baking soda, and baking powder together in medium bowl; set aside.
3. Add remaining 1 3/4 cups brown sugar and salt to bowl with cooled butter; mix until no sugar lumps remain, about 30 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl with rubber spatula; add egg, yolk, and vanilla and mix until fully incorporated, about 30 seconds. Scrape down bowl. Add flour mixture and mix until just combined, about 1 minute. Give dough final stir with rubber spatula to ensure that no flour pockets remain and ingredients are evenly distributed.(4)
4. Divide dough into 24 portions, each about 2 tablespoons, rolling between hands into balls about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Working in batches, toss balls in reserved sugar mixture to coat and set on prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart, 12 dough balls per sheet. (Smaller baking sheets can be used, but it will take 3 batches.)
5. Bake one sheet at a time(5) until cookies are browned and still puffy and edges have begun to set but centers are still soft (cookies will look raw between cracks and seem underdone), 12 to 14 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking. Do not overbake.
6. Cool cookies on baking sheet 5 minutes; using wide metal spatula, transfer cookies to wire rack and cool to room temperature.
(1)I haven't figured out what to do with the white. When I was a kid we'd make angel food cake and yellow cake at the same time to solve this problem, but so far no really elegant solution for the One White Problem has presented itself.
(2)Like a fool, I dumped in all 14 tablespoons at the beginning.
(3)Or a big plate.
(4)By then it's pretty stiff.
(5)Uh, yeah, I sort of skipped that part too.
