The Best Brown Butter Cookies

Brown butter cookies are a tasty take on classic drop cookies. With the added brown butter, toasted walnuts, and sweet glaze, this brown butter cookie recipe will leave you begging for more!

Brown Butter Cookies

You haven’t lived until you’ve tried brown butter cookies, and trust me, this recipe is the very best! 

brown butter cookies on a counter with drizzle white glaze

We are huge cookies lovers! Lemon Sour Cream Cookies Recipe, Peach Cobbler Cookies Recipe, and Delicious Sugar Cookie Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting are just a few of my favorites. And these brown butter cookies are making their way to the top of my list too!

If you haven’t had them before, they are essentially just a simple drop cookie but made with brown butter which adds a rich, nutty flavor. When you top the cookies off with the glaze, I promise you’ll be drooling. The smell of these cookies is amazing! 

Don’t be scared off by the brown butter, either. It’s so easy to prepare and will make all the difference in this brown butter cookie recipe

stack of brown butter cookies with other in the background

Brown butter cookies are the simplicity of cookies with a 5-star flavor! You can’t go wrong with this recipe!

Ingredients

process shot of brown butter cookies
  • ½ cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
  • ½ cup unsalted butter
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
  • ¾ tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ¾ cup unsweetened applesauce
  • ¾ cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 tbsp milk 

Some additional tools you may need: 

How to Make Brown Butter Cookies 

glazed brown butter cookies on a counter top

Don’t forget to download the full printable recipe below so you can print it out and use it whenever you feel like making this delicious recipe!

  • To make your brown butter cookies, preheat your oven to 375 degrees. 
  • Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper or a silicone mat. 
  • Add the walnuts to the baking sheet and let them toast in the preheated oven for about 7-8 minutes.
  • When cooled, chop the walnuts and set them aside.
  • Prepare the baking sheet again with fresh parchment paper and set it aside. 
  • To make the cookie dough, you’ll start by browning your butter. Add the butter chopped into tablespoons into a heavy-bottom pot or skillet over medium-high heat.
  • Swirl the butter around as it melts and boils and continue swirling until it changes color and you can smell a nutty aroma.
  • Remove the butter from the heat and let cool for about 15 minutes.
  • In a large mixing bowl, add the toasted walnuts, flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. 
  • Stir the dry ingredients to combine.
  • In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolk, vanilla, and brown sugar until combined and smooth.
  • Add in the brown butter to the wet ingredients and whisk again to combine. 
  • Fold the flour mixture into the wet ingredients with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until just combined. 
  • Use a cookie scoop to scoop even portions of dough onto the prepared baking sheet. 
  • Bake the cooking in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are golden and the center is firm.
  • Remove the cookies from the oven and transfer them to a wire rack to cool.
  • While the cookies cool, make a glaze by whisking together the powdered sugar and milk in a small bowl.
  • Use a spoon to drizzle the icing over the cooled cookies.
  • Let the cookies set for about 20 minutes before serving!
brown butter cookies drizzled with icing

Tips Tricks and FAQs 

  • Try using dark brown sugar in this recipe… you won’t regret it! Of course, light brown sugar is what most people have on hand and they’ll still be amazing. But the added rich flavor of dark brown sugar pairs so well with the nutty flavor of the brown butter. 
  • I hate trying to store cookies with glaze because it always becomes such a mess! But I was so relieved that these cookies were set enough that you can stack them up. After about an hour on the counter, you should be able to stack the cookies in an airtight container so you can store them.
  • The key to making brown butter is cooking the butter just enough to evaporate some of the liquid and add a nutty flavor but not so much that the butter burns. Once you start seeing a golden color, it’ll start going pretty quick so keep an eye on it! If you find that there’s a lot of flaky bits in your brown butter, you can strain it before adding it to the batter. 

Storage

If you have any cookies leftover, they will stay fresh for up to 5 days in an airtight container at room temperature. You can also freeze them for up to 3 months and they come out great!

More Easy Recipes

Did you make this? Let us know how it went in the comments!

Yield: 18

Brown Butter Cookies

Brown Butter Cookies

Brown butter cookies are a tasty take on classic drop cookies. With the added brown butter, toasted walnuts, and sweet glaze, this brown butter cookie recipe will leave you begging for more!

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • ½ cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
  • ½ cup unsalted butter
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
  • ¾ tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ¾ cup unsweetened applesauce
  • ¾ cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 tbsp milk

Instructions

  1. To make your brown sugar cookies, preheat your oven to 375 degrees. 
  2. Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper or a silicone mat. 
  3. Add the walnuts to the baking sheet and let them toast in the preheated oven for about 7-8 minutes.
  4. When cooled, chop the walnuts and set them aside.
  5. Prepare the baking sheet again with fresh parchment paper and set it aside. 
  6. To make the cookie dough, you’ll start by browning your butter. Add the butter chopped into tablespoons into a heavy-bottom pot or skillet over medium-high heat.
  7. Swirl the butter around as it melts and boils and continue swirling until it changes color and you can smell a nutty aroma.
  8. Remove the butter from the heat and let cool for about 15 minutes.
  9. In a large mixing bowl, add the toasted walnuts, flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. 
  10. Stir the dry ingredients to combine.
  11. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolk, vanilla, and brown sugar until combined and smooth.
  12. Add in the brown butter to the wet ingredients and whisk again to combine. 
  13. Fold the flour mixture into the wet ingredients with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until just combined. 
  14. Use a cookie scoop to scoop even portions of dough onto the prepared baking sheet. 
  15. Bake the cooking in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are golden and the center is firm.
  16. Remove the cookies from the oven and transfer them to a wire rack to cool.
  17. While the cookies cool, make a glaze by whisking together the powdered sugar and milk in a small bowl.
  18. Use a spoon to drizzle the icing over the cooled cookies.
  19. Let the cookies set for about 20 minutes before serving!

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