Brown Butter Sea Salt Cookies

My manager recently went to Cayucos for a short vacation and came across the Brown Butter Cookie Company.  How did I not know this place exsisted even though I have grown up on the central coast and have family in Cayucos?? She said these cookies were to die for and had to come home searching for the recipe and found a recipe.  She tried them that night and said they were almost just as good.  I had to have the recipe and I also tried them that night and fell IN LOVE with them. They are so easy and the combination of sweet and salty (for this salt lover) was absolutely amazing.

Here is the recipe…The dough tends to be very crumbly. Just try to squish it together the best you can. Also, be sure not to add ANY extra flour.

• 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup lightly packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• sea salt for sprinkling (preferably fleur de sel)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In a saucepan over medium heat, melt butter until it starts to caramelize. It should smell nutty and you will see brown bits at the bottom of the pan. Be careful not to burn the butter - in which case you will have to start over. Pour browned butter into a medium bowl and stir in brown sugar and vanilla. In a small bowl, whisk flour and baking soda. Add flour mixture to butter mixture until combined. Let cool to room temperature. Using a tablespoon or small scoop, measure the dough into your hand, roll into a ball and place onto cookie sheet. Once on the cookie sheet, slightly press the ball down.  Sprinkle with sea salt and lightly press into top of cookies. Bake 15 minutes or until lightly golden. Don't overcook, or cookies will be too dry and crumbly.

These little babies are to die for and so good. Even without the sea salt (I have a husband and son that didn’t care for the salt), they were amazingly delicious! Try them soon, I know I will be making these for years to come. Whenever you do, take the Thyme to Savor…