Sometimes my kitchen mistakes end in epic disaster with me in almost-tears and my small countertop full of messy bowls, spoons and pretty much every utensil I have. Other times-a huge mistake like leaving out an entire stick of butter from a cookie recipe, ends up with me creating something I actually really love. That’s how these cookies came to life.
A few weeks ago when I was making these Brown Butter Confetti Cookies, I thought I was halving the whole recipe, but only reduced the quantity of butter and left the rest as it. I knew something seemed wrong, but before I realized what I needed to do, I baked one of the “mistake cookies” without adding any mix-ins just to see what was up. The lesser amount of butter resulted in a super thick and puffy cookie with a crisp exterior and a really chewy inside. It basically tasted like a chewy brown butter sugar cookie, and the texture reminded me of a snickerdoodle, dying to be rolled in cinnamon sugar.
So, it was only a matter of time before I attempted this “mistake” again, this time with a few more tweaks, (adding in a little more of the butter I mistakenly left out. )I made mine small and almost bite-sized, which resulted in the perfect delicious portion. I wish all my epic fails resulted in something wonderful….if only! :)
Ingredients
- 1 stick plus 3 tablespoons of salted butter. (11 tablespoons)
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 egg plus 1 egg yolk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 F.
- To brown butter- place butter in a heat-proof bowl with a plate or other snug cover in the microwave. Cook on high for 5-7 minutes. Butter will pop, sizzle and become perfectly browned.
- 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 cinnamon in a shallow dish. Scoop dough into equal 1 inch sized portions, roll into balls and coat in cinnamon sugar. Place dough balls an inch apart on parchment or silpat-lined cookie sheets.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes or until bottoms of the cookies are golden. Right after coming out of the oven, gently pat the tops of the cookies with a spatula to flatten. (To add some extra cracks!)
I went to the site looking for the old reliable “perfect choc chip cookie” recipe and instead took a chance on this new recipe. MAN are they GOOD! The browned butter is such a great change to this classic snickerdoodle recipe.
Great recipe! Delicious!
Thanks so much Rebecca! Your comments yesterday sure were sweet :) I loved these cookies too.
oh wow, these look so good! I haven’t had a snickerdoodle in such a long time.
I do love your browned butter recipes. Whether on purpose of by twist of fate they are always delicious!
Yum these sound delicious! I love brown butter, salted brown butter sounds even better!
Woahhh! You should stuff THESE with caramel!
I LOVE when a baking mistake turns into something good. Love these cookies!
Some of my best recipes are the direct result of kitchen mistakes! These look amazing!
These are so pretty, Audra! I love snickerdoodles. Hope you have a sweets-filled birthday!!
I love snickerdoodles and these look just beautiful Audra! Love that you used browned butter!
nice!!! love mistakes that turn into creations :) these sound so very good!!
Those look so good!!
Once I forgot to add an extra cup of flour, and my cookies melted all over the oven. That definitely did not result in anything good! :)
I’d be so happy if one of my kitchen mistakes turned into something so delicious! :) I am in love with your mini cookies, especially because there’s brown butter involved!
Oh brown buttery goodness!
I wish one of my mistakes could end up turning into something fabulous like this! These look amazing Audra!
As soon as I saw these cookies, before reading about them, I said to myself, “How are her snickerdoodles so thick? How come mine don’t come out that way?” I can’t wait to try these out!
I love happy accidents. These sound wonderful!
If a cookie has brown butter I become weak at my knees and cannot say no! These cookies look soft and chewy, just how I like snickerdoodles! I actually made brown butter snickerdoodles a few weeks ago and brown butter really does make the best snickerdoodles of all time!
These cookies need to get in my life… like right now! Here’s to a snow day in NYC tomorrow so I can bake them up!
I’ve had those crying on the floor surrounded by cookie dough (that I proceed to eat anyway even though it’s not particularly delicious) moments. But I’m so glad this did not end that way. These look like the perfect cookie bites!