Brown Butter Vanilla Shortbread Cookies

Buttery shortbread cookies are simple to make and essential to a baker’s repertoire. Our recipe for Brown Butter Vanilla Shortbread Cookies put a new twist on this classic treat that will dazzle taste buds. The brown butter adds a touch of nuttiness to the rich vanilla flavor in the cookies. For extra flair, dress to impress by dipping them in shiny tempered chocolate or pipe your favorite design!

Ingredients

USMetric

Cookies

2 cups unsalted butter (4 sticks)
1 ½ cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Bean Paste
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2 tablespoons Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Extract
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4 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon sea salt

Optional: Tempered Chocolate Dip or Piping

2 cups bittersweet chocolate (70% cocoa or more)

Directions

Cookies

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Cut butter into evenly sized pieces. In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat. Using your whisk, gently swirl the butter around the pan to melt.

Once the butter is completely melted, it will begin to foam. Turn the heat down to medium and let it bubble for 2-3 minutes, whisking frequently until brown bits appear. As soon as the butter is toasty brown and smells nutty, remove from heat and transfer into a heat-proof bowl to chill in the refrigerator. Once it has solidified, set it out to come to room temperature.

Transfer the brown butter into a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Add the powdered sugar and mix until fluffy. Add vanilla extract and vanilla bean paste.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and sea salt. Add the flour mixture to the butter and sugar mixture. Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, mix on low speed until just combined. Add small amounts of water as needed to pull the dough together. This compensates for the water loss in the butter during the browning process.

Remove the dough from the bowl and divide it into two equal-sized pieces. Form each piece into a 1- to 2-inch thick flat disk. Cover the disks with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Cut four large pieces of parchment paper to fit a half sheet baking pan. Unwrap the dough and put each chilled dough disk between two pieces of parchment paper and form the dough into a rectangle using your hands. Roll dough to be about ¼ inch thick. Click here to learn the best way to roll cookie dough.

Tip: If you have an intricate cookie cutter, return your rolled dough to the refrigerator for 20 minutes before cutting out cookies. This will give you the cleanest cut on your cookies.

Remove the top sheet of parchment paper. Use your favorite cookie cutter to stamp out cookies. Peel away the excess dough, leaving the cut-out cookies on the paper. Carefully transfer cut-out cookies on the paper to the sheet pans.

Repeat this process with the second chilled dough disk.

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until cookies begin to turn golden brown. When done, remove pans from the oven and let the cookies set for two minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.

Store cookies in an airtight container to maintain freshness for up to three weeks.

Optional: Tempered Chocolate Dip

Finish your shortbread cookies by dipping half of each cookie into tempered chocolate. Tempered chocolate will give your cookies a professional, glossy look while keeping the chocolate from melting on your fingers. Click here to learn how to temper chocolate.

To temper chocolate using the seeding method, place roughly three-fourths of the chocolate in a dry, heat-proof bowl. Fill a small pot with 1-2 inches of water and bring it to a light simmer. Create a double boiler by placing the heatproof bowl of chocolate over the pot. Turn the heat down to low. The bowl should not be touching the water. If it is touching the water, remove enough water so the bowl is no longer touching it. Let the chocolate sit over the hot water, uncovered, until it is about two-thirds melted. Be careful to not allow any water to splash or touch the chocolate.

Once the chocolate is about two-thirds melted, gently stir and allow it to melt completely until a candy thermometer reaches 115°F. Remove the melted chocolate from the pot and set it aside. Add the remaining chocolate, stirring constantly until all pieces have melted and the mixture cools to 79°F. Put the mixture back in the double boiler and raise the temperature to 89°F. Remove the bowl from the pot.

To check if the chocolate is properly tempered, dip a spoon in the melted chocolate. When the chocolate sets to a satiny texture and glossy finish, it is ready to use. Note that cooling temperatures can vary by type of chocolate. If the chocolate doesn’t start to set within 2-3 minutes, cool chocolate two more degrees and then test again. If the chocolate looks dull after setting, you will need re-temper your chocolate.

When dipping the cookies, try to keep the chocolate around 89°F by stirring or microwaving in short bursts.

Optional: Tempered Chocolate Piping

Instead of dipping your cookies, you can pipe tempered chocolate for a fancier, more intricate design. Click here to learn how to fill a homemade pastry bag for piping.

Complete chocolate tempering steps above. When tempered chocolate is ready, cut a ¼-inch opening in the corner of a quart-sized resealable bag with a piping tip, if desired. Transfer tempered chocolate to the resealable bag. Pipe chocolate onto cookies and let set.

Notes

Final temperatures vary by chocolate type:

Dark chocolate should be heated to 89°F
Milk chocolate should be heated to 86°F
White chocolate should be heated to 84°F

This recipe for Brown Butter Vanilla Shortbread Cookies is by Chef Marina Sousa

Cookies

454 grams unsalted butter (4 sticks)
170 grams powdered sugar
2 tablespoons Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Bean Paste
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2 tablespoons Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Extract
buy now
480 grams flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon sea salt

Optional: Tempered Chocolate Dip or Piping

350 grams bittersweet chocolate (70% cocoa or more)

Directions

Cookies

Preheat oven to 180°C.

Cut butter into evenly sized pieces. In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat. Using your whisk, gently swirl the butter around the pan to melt.

Remove the dough from the bowl and divide it into two equal sized pieces. Form each piece into a 2.5- to 5-cm thick flat disk. Cover the disks with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Cut four large pieces of parchment paper to fit a half sheet baking pan. Unwrap the dough and put each chilled dough disk between two pieces of parchment paper and form the dough into a rectangle using your hands. Roll dough to be about 0.64 cm thick. Click here to learn the best way to roll cookie dough.

Tip: If you have an intricate cookie cutter, return your rolled dough to the refrigerator for 20 minutes before cutting out cookies. This will give you the cleanest cut on your cookies.

Repeat this process with the second chilled dough disk.

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until cookies begin to turn golden brown. When done, remove pans from the oven and let the cookies set for two minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.

Store cookies in an airtight container to maintain freshness for up to three weeks.

Optional: Tempered Chocolate Dip

To temper chocolate using the seeding method, place roughly three-fourths of the chocolate in a dry, heat-proof bowl. Fill a small pot with 2.5 to 5 cm of water and bring it to a light simmer. Create a double boiler by placing the heatproof bowl of chocolate over the pot. Turn the heat down to low. The bowl should not be touching the water. If it is touching the water, remove enough water so the bowl is no longer touching it. Let the chocolate sit over the hot water, uncovered, until it is about two-thirds melted. Be careful to not allow any water to splash or touch the chocolate.

Once the chocolate is about two-thirds melted, gently stir and allow it to melt completely until a candy thermometer reaches 46°C. Remove the melted chocolate from the pot and set it aside. Add the remaining chocolate, stirring constantly until all pieces have melted and the mixture cools to 26°C. Put the mixture back in the double boiler and raise the temperature to 32°C. Remove the bowl from the pot.

When dipping the cookies, try to keep the chocolate around 32°C by stirring or microwaving in short bursts.

Optional: Tempered Chocolate Piping

Instead of dipping your cookies, you can pipe tempered chocolate for a fancier, more intricate design. Click here to learn how to fill a homemade pastry bag for piping.

Complete chocolate tempering steps above. When tempered chocolate is ready, cut a 0.64-cm opening in the corner of a quart-sized resealable bag with a piping tip, if desired. Transfer tempered chocolate to the resealable bag. Pipe chocolate onto cookies and let set.