Brown Butter Snickerdoodles with Cinnamon Chips

Remember that cookie swap I mentioned before? Well, yesterday I woke up bright and early to start baking cookies for the cookie swap today. I had 7 dozen to make and wanted to make sure I had time to get them done, packaged, and taste tested of course. My alarm went off at 7:30 and I hopped out of bed and got to work. Last year I brought chocolate snickerdoodle cookies to the swap so this year I wanted to step up my snickerdoodle game and make something a little more unique.

After searching through cookie recipes for what seemed like days, I finally found one that I wanted to try. I tweaked the recipe a bit, headed to the store, got some rest, then got to work. I know most of you are probably thinking "a brown butter cookie? I don't know about that" but trust me, it works. It works SO well actually. The brown butter gives these cookies a slight caramel flavor while the cinnamon chips give them the perfect bite of spice.

I baked cookies for 4 hours...that's right, FOUR hours people. Why? Because this recipe makes a TON of cookies. It's perfect for cookies swaps but not so perfect if you've got a cookie craving and want to whip up a small batch for yourself, so cut it in half or even quarters if you need to.

Yield: 8 dozen

• 5 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 4 tsp cream of tartar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter (softened)
• 2 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 tsp pure vanilla
• 2 tbsp plain Greek yogurt
• 1 bag Hershey's cinnamon chips (about 1 2/3 cups)

For the rolling mixture:

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 4 tsp cinnamon

In a medium pan, add butter and melt over medium heat, whisking occasionally. Once the butter starts to foam at the top, increase the heat slightly; the color of the butter will change to a dark yellow then brown. As soon as the butter has browned, remove from heat and allow to cool.

In a mixing bowl or bowl of a stand mixer, beat together brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs, egg yolks and vanilla. Slowly mix in the brown butter until incorporated then add the Greek yogurt. 

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, cinnamon, and salt. Once mixed, stir in the cinnamon chips.* 

Working in batches, add the flour to the wet mixture and mix on low. I found it easiest to mix most of the flour and wet ingredients in a mixer then when the dough got too tough for the mixer, I mixed it by hand in the large bowl that had the remaining flour. 

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour. When the dough is almost done resting, preheat the oven to 350°. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper (do not spray with cooking spray). Roll the dough into teaspoon sized balls and then roll in the cinnamon sugar mixture. Place 1 inch apart on the cookie sheets; do not flatten the dough, it will flatten on its own as it cooks. Bake for 9 minutes or until the edges start to brown slightly. Transfer to a wire rack to cool then start on the next batch.**

*It is important to add the cinnamon chips to the flour mixture first; when the flour coats the cinnamon chips, it helps them to stick to the wet mixture instead of all settling at the bottom of the bowl. 

**Make sure to keep the dough wrapped in the plastic when not using to prevent it from drying out. 

Recipe adapted from: What Megan's Making