Brown Butter Snickerdoodles Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Can you replace butter with brown butter? ›

Yes, you can swap browned butter for regular butter, but keep in mind it's not a 1:1 swap. During the process of browning butter, water evaporates from the butter, which leads to a 10 to 20 percent total moisture loss.

You can either replace cream of tartar with baking powder at a 1:1.5 ratio (1 teaspoon cream of tartar : 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder), or you can replace cream of tartar with the combination of baking soda and either lemon juice or vinegar (as with this recipe).

Yes! The browned butter will have flecks of brown in it – those are the browned milk solids and they hold all the yummy flavor, so be sure to really scrape your pan down so you get to use all of them!

“Browning all the butter removes the water content, but the dough still needs some of that water to come together. Browning only some of the butter is enough to achieve that signature nuttiness, while the remaining unbrowned butter provides enough water content for the dough to come together.”

A stick of butter (US) weighs 113 g. Post browning it will weigh about 83 grams. 1 (one) tablespoon of butter weighs 14 grams so you're losing almost 2 tablespoons (28 g) of butter through the browning process. This happens because liquid in the butter evaporates.

Often described as tasting nutty or toasty, it has a deeper, richer, more intense flavor than melted or clarified butter. Brown butter is traditionally served with fish, but it makes a delicious topping for vegetables such as Brussels sprouts and broccoli.

Snickerdoodles might turn out hard if they are overbaked or if the dough is too dry. Be sure to keep an eye on them as they bake – when the edges are set but the centers are still soft and puffy, they are done. Also, make sure you're not adding too much flour.

The Problem: Your Oven Is Too Hot

If your cookies repeatedly turn out flat, no matter the recipe, chances are your oven is too hot.

Your snickerdoodles may taste bitter if you are sensitive to the taste of cream of tartar. This snickerdoodle cookie recipe without cream of tartar is an excellent option if you fall into that category.

Why don t my snickerdoodles crack? ›

If yours aren't cracking, your oven may not be hot enough or your ingredients may not be fresh enough! Are snickerdoodles supposed to be undercooked? I always recommend slightly underbaking your cookies and then letting them finish baking through cooling on the pan.

The Joy of Cooking claims that “snickerdoodle” comes from “Schneckennudel,” a German word that literally means “snail noodles.” Schneckennudels don't have anything to do with snails or noodles, though—they're actually delicious-looking German cinnamon rolls.

If your oven is too hot or too cold, it may influence whether or not your cookies spread properly. If you didn't preheat your oven to the correct temperature before placing your tray of cookies in the oven, it will be too cold and your cookies won't have enough time to spread.

Adding too little butter can cause the cookies to be tough and crumbly. You should use unsalted butter to control the salt content, but if you only have salted on hand, reduce the amount of added salt accordingly. Sugar sweetens the cookies and makes them an enticing golden brown.

Brown butter adds a rich, slightly nutty, caramel flavor to baked goods that makes everything extra delicious. If you haven't made brown butter before, don't you worry. You've come to the right place.

Too much flour in your brown butter chocolate chip cookies can make them dry, tough, crumbly, or too thick, none of which are good.