Brown Sugar Christmas Cookies
The time has come again for the annual Blog Hop Cookie Swap by Room For Tuesday, and we were so excited to be invited back. In past years, we’ve made our Chocolate Crinkle Cookies, which are always a big hit and a holiday classic, but this year we wanted to try something we haven’t done before. As we searched for holiday cookie recipe inspiration, we kept coming back to the classic and festive look of cut-out cookies.
So, this year we are baking Brown Sugar Christmas Cookies. Similarly to our Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies, we combined two different recipes from America’s Test Kitchen for the perfect, tastiest cookie with a festive touch. These cookies are “what a sugar cookie should be” - they have the perfect balance of sweetness and nostalgia of a classic sugar cookie, with a more complex flavor. You know we are big fans of browning butter and doing it here adds a bit of a caramel note to the finished product.
Ingredients
14 tablespoons of unsalted butter (1 and 3/4 sticks)
1/4 cup granulated sugar (1.75 oz)
2 cups packed dark brown sugar (14 oz)
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons of unbleached all-purpose flour (10.5 oz)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Instructions
For the batter
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven (for cut-out cookies - 300 degrees, for regular cookies - 350 degrees). Line 2 large (18x12”) baking sheets with parchment paper.
Heat 10 tablespoons of butter in 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat until melted, about 2 minutes. Continue to cook, swirling the pan constantly until butter is dark golden brown and has nutty aroma, about 1 to 3 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and transfer browned butter to large heatproof bowl. Stir remaining 4 tablespoons butter into the hot butter to melt; set aside for 15 minutes.
Whisk flour, baking soda, and baking powder together in medium bowl; set aside.
With the butter now close to room temperature - Add 1 3/4 cups brown sugar (12.25 oz) 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.
Fold in 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. It’s going to feel like it’s a lot of flour but it will combine! Trust the process!
Option 1: FOr Round Cookies
6. In a shallow baking dish or pie plate, mix 1/4 cup (1.75 oz) granulated sugar and 1/4 cup (1.75 oz) packed brown sugar, rubbing between fingers, until well combined
7. Divide dough into 24 portions, each about 2 tablespoons, rolling between hands into balls about 1 1/2” in diameter. Working in batches, toss cookie dough balls in reserved sugar mixture to coat and set on your 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.)
8. Bake one sheet at a time until cookies are browned and still puffy, and the 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 over bake.
9. Cool cookies on baking sheet 5 minutes; using wide metal spatula, transfer cookies to wire rack and cool to room temperature.
Option 2: For Cut Out Cookies
6. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. In shallow baking dish or pie plate, mix granulated sugar and 1/4 cup (1.75 oz) packed brown sugar, mix with fingers or whisk, until well combined.
7. Turn out dough onto counter and knead gently by hand until smooth, about 10 seconds. Divide dough in half. Place 1 piece of dough in center of large sheet of parchment paper and press into 7x9” oval. Place second large sheet of parchment over dough and roll dough into 10x14” oval of even 1/8” thickness. Transfer dough with parchment to rimmed baking sheet. Refrigerate until dough is firm, at least 1½ hours (or freeze for 30 minutes).
8. Line rimless cookie sheet with parchment. Working with 1 piece of rolled dough, gently peel off top layer of parchment. Replace parchment, loosely covering dough. (Peeling off parchment and returning it will make cutting and removing cookies easier.) Turn over dough and parchment and gently peel off and discard second piece of parchment.
9. Using your chosen cookie cutters, cut dough into shapes. Transfer shapes to prepared cookie sheet, spacing them about ½” apart. Sprinkle with brown and granulated sugar mixture. Bake until cookies are lightly and evenly browned around edges, 14 to 17 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking.
10. Using wide metal spatula, transfer cookies to wire rack and let cool completely.
The final step, and possibly the most important, is to test your own cookies - can you really partake in a holiday cookie swap without testing the final product?! It’s basically a safety precaution. If you have one with a side of hot chocolate and Christmas music playing - even better.
Sarah, thank you for organizing and including us in your special, annual tradition of the holiday season. It's been so much fun and we're VERY excited about the different cookies we're about to eat, as well as the new recipes shared. It's certainly a delicious way to spend the Christmas season.
Room for Tuesday // Butter Spritz Cookies
House of Hipsters // Buttery Spritz Cookie Recipe
Francois et Moi // Easy Buttery English Toffee
Yellow Brick Home // Buckeyes
Brepurposed // Dark Chocolate Orange, Rosemary & Sea Salt Cookies
Laine & Layne // Brown Sugar Cinnamon Frosted Cookies
Stephen’s Test Kitchen Notes
Recently, we’ve had several occasions that we needed cookies for, and as the baker of the house, Stephen’s been doing a lot of recipe testing and tweaking. He keeps notes on what changes he makes to the process or ingredients, and how it affects the final cookie. For this recipe, and really all our new and different recipes, a great way to experiment is by making a half batch to start. This was our first time making a cookie cutter cookie and while we wouldn’t say they were perfect decorating cookies, they did hold their shape and felt more festive than your average kind of cookie. And for some reason, they seemed to stay a bit chewier than the other cookies (which is what we prefer anyways!).
While Stephen loves to bake cookies, one of David's favorite things is to eat them! He says that these might be his new favorite, but will need to eat another cookie to be sure!
Our Baking Must-Haves
