Brown Butter Pumpkin Cookie

Brown Butter Pumpkin Cookie Recipe By: Cece Kirkwood.

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Where to begin? The Brown Butter Pumpkin Cookie is the ultimate fall cookie recipe. I mean it! It’s great from the first moment your Fall cravings hit all the way through the end of November.

You know what I’m talking about! Whip out these cookies when you start to feel the summer breeze fade away and the cool, crisp morning air welcomes you as you wake up each morning… This cookie is the perfect partner to that shift in the seasons. 

The brown butter adds a perfect nutty flavor to the cookie batter. Pair that with the sweetness of pumpkin and a crisp hint of cinnamon – you’ll be craving these from the minute you wake up into all your fall harvest dreams. 

The Process 

Prepare the ingredients

Preheat the oven to 375ºF and pre-measure your ingredients!

Then, brown the butter & cool to room temperature.

• To brown the butter, grab a light colored pan (this helps with being able to spot when the butter is browned enough) and place it over medium heat. 
• Add the cubed butter to the pan and continuously stir with a wooden or rubber spoon to keep the heat moving evenly across all the butter.
• The butter will quickly melt and start to foam and sizzle. This is good! Keep things going for another 5-8 minutes until the butter turns a nice golden brown. Hint: Once it starts to smell nice and toasty and nutty, you are about 3 minutes away from it being done! 
• Immediately remove the butter from heat and place it into a heat proof container to completely cool to room temperature. 

Next, Prepare the pumpkin. Don’t skip this step! 

• Prepare the canned pumpkin by measuring out 65g of puree. 
• Grab a couple paper towels or a cheese cloth, place the puree inside and blot/squeeze the pumpkin to remove excess liquid. 
• You’ll want to remove most of the liquid so you are left with something that resembles more of a paste than a puree.

Mix the Pumpkin Cookie Batter

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda & baking powder, salt, cornstarch, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice. Set that aside. 

Using an electric mixer on medium-high, cream the cooled browned butter, vanilla and sugars together until light and fluffy. Set a timer for 4 minutes and walk away. Let that butter & sugar mixture get nice and fluffy!  Add in the prepared pumpkin and egg to the sugar mixture and mix until just combined

Gradually add in the flour mixture, being sure to wipe down the sides of the bowl between mixes. Finally, fold in the chocolate chips

Scoop the cookies & bake!

Scoop out your cookies into 1 inch balls. Roll each in your hand until smooth, then drop them into sugar to lightly coat the outside of each cookie ball. 

Place on a baking sheet greased and lined with parchment paper

Bake in the oven for 14 minutes and allow them to fully cool before devouring. 

The Tips 

Do I have to pre-blot the pumpkin or can I just throw it in straight from the can?

Do not throw the pumpkin in straight from the can. You need to pre-blot and prepare the pumpkin filling! 

• You’ll want to remove most of the moisture from the canned pumpkin before adding it to your scone ingredients. If you skip this step, the pumpkin will cause the scone batter to be sloppy and wet. So don’t skip this one! 
• Prepare the canned pumpkin by measuring out 65g of puree. 
• Then grab a couple paper towels or a cheese cloth, place the puree inside and blot/squeeze the pumpkin to remove excess liquid. 
• You’ll want to remove most of the liquid so you are left with something that resembles more of a paste than a puree. See my video above from the pumpkin scones for more information! 

Why is this recipe in grams?

Baking is a science and in science you want things to be exact and precise. The best way to do this is by weighing out your ingredients using a simple scale. Ever baked a cookie using the same recipe, yet somehow it turns out slightly different each time? That is because when measuring by volume, you can’t be as precise. It is vital that your ingredient ratios are accurate for a reliable bake every time.

How long do the Brown Butter Pumpkin Cookies last?

Once cooled, store the cookies in an airtight container and add a slice of sandwich bread. The cookies will absorb moisture from the bread, keeping your cookies fresh for up to 10 days! 

You can also pop these cookies in the microwave for about 30 seconds to get the chocolate all nice and ooey gooey again! Better yet – add a scoop of vanilla ice cream to the mix and WOW! You will not be sorry. 

The Brown Butter Pumpkin Cookie Recipe

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