Brown Butter Cookies and Cream Cookies (Soft Bakery-Style)

• 1 cup (227g) unsalted butter (*see notes) 
• 1 tbsp milk powder (**see notes) 
• 2/3 cup (135g) light brown sugar, packed
• 3 TBSP (38g) granulated or cane sugar
• 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk, room temperature
• 2 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cups + 1 TBSP (218g) all-purpose flour leveled and spooned
• 1 TBSP cornstarch
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda‍
• 16 double stuffed chocolate creme cookies like Oreos chopped

1. Brown butter in a saucepan over medium heat until golden and nutty. Remove from heat, pour in a large mixing bowl and stir in milk powder. Let the butter cool for 10-15 minutes.
2. When the butter has cooled, whisk in sugars till fully combined and glossy. It will look a little grainy.
3. Add in the egg, egg yolk and vanilla extract. Whisk till combined and smooth.  
4. Whisk dry ingredients in a separate bowl till combined, flours, cornstarch, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
5. Fold dry into wet just until almost combined, leave a few noticeable flour streaks.
6. Stir in chopped cookies and mix gently just enough till combined and you don't see any more flour.
7. Cover and chill dough 30 to 60 minutes.
8. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and with a cookie or ice cream scoop to portion out the dough into equal size balls. Space out dough at least 2 inches apart. Optional to press extra cookies pieces to the top of the cookie dough for appearance.
9. Bake at 350°F for 10-11 minutes or until edges are light golden brown, and the middle of the cookie is soft and puffed.
10. Cool the baked cookies for 5 minutes on the sheet pan, then transfer to rack to fully cool. The centers will appear underbaked at first and will continue to cook through even on the cooling rack.

NOTES: 

*How to Brown Butter (The Right Way)

1. Place the butter in a light-colored saucepan over medium heat.
2. Let it melt completely, then continue cooking. It will foam, then quiet.
3. Swirl the pan occasionally. Watch for golden bits forming on the bottom.
4. When it smells nutty and looks amber, remove from heat.
5. Immediately stir in the espresso powder and milk powder.

You want golden, not burnt. Think toasted hazelnut, not coffee ash.

**Milk Powder
Milk powder deepens the brown butter flavor, giving it that bakery-style, toasted richness. It’s usually found in the baking aisle near evaporated milk or in the international foods section.

• If you can’t find it, you can skip it. Just add 1 TBSP room temp milk to the wet batter.
• The cookies will still be delicious.
• You’ll simply lose a little of that layered, nutty depth.

Think of it as a flavor amplifier, not a requirement.

Storage Instructions:

Room temperature
Airtight container up to 3 days
Add a small piece of bread to keep soft

Refrigerator
Not recommended. Chills the butter flavor and firms the crumb.

Freeze baked cookies
Up to 2 months
Thaw or warm at 300°F

Freeze dough
Freeze scooped balls and bake from frozen
Add 1–2 minutes bake time