Here is a picture of the browned butter cookies with the dough only refrigerated for 1 hour--2 hours didn't make a difference. refrigerating overnight produced thicker cookies.
State Fair
State Fair Ribbons
Friday, July 15, 2011
Musings about Browned Butter
I'm in MN State Fair baking frenzy mode now. Anna from Cookie Madness turned me on to her browned butter pecan pie a couple of years ago. I have to say it is the best pecan pie I have ever tasted. Not just me, but everyone who tried it said it was the best pecan pie they ever tasted. For those of you who don't know what Browned Butter is and how to make it, see this excellent Allrecipes site: Browned Butter It adds a nutty, toffee-like flavor to the dough. I got to thinking about browned butter when thinking about what could be a State Fair chocolate chip cookie ribbon-winning recipe. There are a few browned butter recipes out there that are similar. Seeing as I just could not help myself, I tinkered around with a few regular and browned butter chocolate chip cookie recipes and came up with what I am going to enter into the state fair this year. For the regular contests the recipe does not need to be your own, but it does need to be made from scratch. I will show you pictures, but I am not going to give out my secret recipe yet! I will tell you it is a combination of white and brown sugar, all-purpose and bread flour, and you guessed it: Browned Butter. I still can't figure out how to make my cookies come out round each time. Dana has a good idea on her blog Dana Treat. I will have to try rolling the dough into logs, refrigerating it, and then slicing it next time. I do not have a cookie scoop, but I am considering investing in one. If anyone has opinions about good scoops, please, please let me know!
Here is a picture of the browned butter cookies with the dough only refrigerated for 1 hour--2 hours didn't make a difference. refrigerating overnight produced thicker cookies.
Here is a picture of the browned butter cookies with the dough only refrigerated for 1 hour--2 hours didn't make a difference. refrigerating overnight produced thicker cookies.
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Good luck with your browned butter CCC cookies. they look GREAT! Have you ever seen the Cook's Illustrated "Perfect" CCC recipe? http://basicallybaked.wordpress.com/2009/03/28/perfect-chocolate-chip-cookies/
ReplyDeleteThe name annoys me, but the cookies are my absolute favorite CCC.
I have seen that recipe. I have not tried it yet, but I will!!
ReplyDeleteYour cookies look wonderful! I highly recommend investing in a scoop. I could not live without mine! I have 4 different sizes so I can make various sizes of cookies. They are also great for portioning out batter for muffins or cupcakes.
ReplyDeleteThe place I like to get mine is a local restaurant supply store that is open to the public...they must have 12 different sizes. You can also get them from Williams Sononma...I find their sizes are either too big or too small (last I checked they had 3 to choose from). I'm sure other cooking supply stores carry them as well.
Best of luck in the State Fair! Your cookies look like a winner to me!
I should have mentioned that I have scoops from King Arthur Flour. They had a deal of some sort last year and I took advantage of it. I love them! They are a set of three and easily found on their website, but they can also be purchased individually. the restaurant supply store mentioned above seems like a good option for them too. As much as you bake, I think you'd get good use out of them.
ReplyDeleteHope you had good luck at the fair! And the cookies look fantastic. I myself have two cookie scoops small and medium Oxo Good Grips. I love them. But you're paying extra because it's a "Cookie Scoop" if you get a tigger ice cream scoop it's pretty much the same thing. Just FYI: I use the small one 99% of the time, but the medium one makes an "average" size cookie.
ReplyDeleteAdam, thanks for the tip. I am going to check out Target and Williams-Sonoma. I know Target will be cheaper, but I have a gift certificate to Williams-Sonoma.
ReplyDeleteI'm about to start gearing up for the KS state fair! And you know what's funny? I'm entering brown butter choco chip cookies too. It really does make everything better. The pound cakes that won first place last year were both brown butter pound cakes. I won third with my plane jane and learned a lesson. :) Your cookies look so good! Do you bake in advance and freeze? That's what I do b/c I have to drive so far that I make a LOT of stuff to make it worth the trip.
ReplyDeleteOh, and you don't have to be a snob when it comes to cookie scoops. I used to buy $10 ones from a cake supply store, but I kept breaking them. I finally bought one from Walmart for less and guess what? It's so much better! And still kicking after more than a year.
ReplyDeleteGood luck at the state fair! Those cookies look and sound amazing. :) I love my cookie scoops, and use them for nearly all of my cookies. Mine are from Pampered Chef and I've had them for years with no problems.
ReplyDeleteThanks scrambledhenfruit! I hope they turn out good the day I make them for the fair...
ReplyDeleteYour cookies are so beautiful! I've never tried a brown butter recipe - but I'll take any recipe that offers a toffee flavor. We're going to give it a try tomorrow. Thanks, Gloria.
ReplyDeleteHi! Thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving a comment. We're both baking for the State Fair. How cool is that? :o) I have signed up for 13 items this year. I will probably enter less because something has come up so I don't have as much as time as I initially had planned (there's always next year). Please email me. Would love to chat SF stuff with you, like how long you've been participating. I'm at HanaasKitchen [at] live [dot] com. Talk to you soon! :o)
ReplyDeleteThe cookies sound and look great! I agree with other posters; cookie scoops are a great tool to use in making cookies. Different ones have different numbers for sizing. Experiment to find one you like. I bought mine at a "gourmet" kitchen store, but I like the idea of seeing what a restaurant supply store has. Good luck at the fair!
ReplyDelete