browned butter, pretzel & M&M cookies

Today’s recipe is (drumroll please) a cookie. Cookies are truly my sweet spot, my comfort zone, my favorite of goodies in the baking world- and I couldn’t be more excited to feature one today! I was eager and excited to create a cookie that wasn’t for my shop– one that was just for the readers. When it comes to dessert I’m a salty/sweet girl, so these were a home-run for me.

Browned Butter, Pretzel & M&M Cookies

2 sticks unsalted butter, browned (don’t know how to brown butter? that’s okay- I’ll show you!)

1/2 C brown sugar

1/2 C sugar

2 eggs (room temperature!)

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 1/3 C flour (all purpose)

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp kosher salt (regular salt works fine if you do not have kosher on hand!)

1 C M&M’s (or more, if you’re an M&M fanatic!)

1/2 C milk chocolate chips

1/2 C pretzels, broken

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350F and line baking sheets with parchment paper or silpat mat.

A few hours before beginning, brown your butter so that it has plenty of time to cool. To brown butter, simply put both sticks of butter into a pan, place the heat on low, and get a whisk or spoon ready for stirring. Once the butter is melted completely, stir frequently until the butter crisps in the bottom of the pan and starts turning a golden brown. Be cautious- there is about a 30 second window to pour the butter into a bowl for cooling once the brown color appears before brown becomes black (eck!). Be sure to use a spatula when removing the butter from the pan- and get all of the “chunks” on the bottom. That’s where the flavor is!! Browned butter has a deep, nutty aroma and is a useful trick for many recipes. Well worth the time and patience. If you are browning your butter hours before you plan to use it, I usually let it sit at room temperature to return to its semi-solid state. In a rush, you can throw it in the refrigerator.

Once your butter is cooled and semi solid again, cream it together with both sugars. Next, add your eggs (one at a time), followed by the vanilla extract. In a seperate bowl, combine all dry ingredients (flour, baking soda and kosher salt). Add dry ingredients to the wet and mix until just combined. If you use a stand mixer be cautious of overmixing- it leads to sad, flat cookies. Use a wooden spoon to stir in pretzel pieces, chips and M&M’s.

Scoop dough in one inch balls (I use this cookie scoop!) onto cookie sheet, bake 10-12 minutes. Enjoy!