Brown Sugar Cookies

In addition to my Salted Toffee-Chocolate Squares, I also baked up a batch of Brown Sugar Cookies for Christmas.  This Cook's Illustrated recipe is very similar to their Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe, which I made for the Boston Blogger Cookie Challenge.

First, I gathered my ingredients:

• 14 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 cups packed dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg plus 1 large yolk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

I started out by browning ten tablespoons of butter in a skillet over medium-high heat.  I melted the butter and swirled the pan occasionally until the butter turned dark golden brown and had the most wonderful nutty aroma.

I poured the browned butter in a large bowl and then added the remaining four tablespoons of butter to the melted butter.  I stirred the butter until it was completely cooled and set it aside.

I then preheated the oven to 350 degrees and lined two baking sheets with parchment paper.  In a shallow bowl, I mixed 1/4 cup brown sugar and the granulated sugar and set aside.

I also whisked the flour, baking soda, and baking powder in a medium bowl and set aside.

I then added the remaining 1 3/4 cups of brown sugar and salt to the bowl of melted browned butter.  The sugar and salt were mixed in until there were no sugar lumps remaining.

I then stirred in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla.

I finally added in the flour mixture until the dough was just combined.

I rolled two tablespoons of dough at a time into balls and then pressed half the dough ball into the sugar mixture.  The dough balls were placed two inches apart on the baking sheets.

I baked the cookies one sheet at a time on the middle rack for six minutes before rotating the sheet and baking for another six minutes.  The cookies cooled on the tray for about ten minutes before I transferred them to a serving platter.

These cookies were simply lovely.  They had the perfect soft and chewy texture.  The brown sugar really elevated these sugar cookies by adding a nice depth of flavor. 

These might have been my favorite cookies of the holiday season!

What have been your favorite cookies this holiday season?