The ultimate sugar cookie – rich and buttery, with the most delicious caramelized vanilla flavor. These Browned Butter Sugar Cookies are a favorite time and time again!

Jump to Recipe

If you’re looking for a classic drop-style sugar cookie, look no further! These Browned Butter Sugar Cookies are soft and chewy. They have a rich and buttery caramelized vanilla flavor, thanks to the browned butter.

If you haven’t tried browned butter in a cookie recipe yet, here’s your sign! It is a definite game changer.

These Browned Butter Sugar Cookies make a wonderful Christmas cookie, or just about any holiday. Of course, you need no special occasion to bake a delicious batch of homemade sugar cookies, so whip them up anytime!

Bake up some more sweet treats from Quail Creek Homestead:

What You Need to Make Browned Butter Sugar Cookies

Medium saucepan

Kitchen scale – I prefer to measure ingredients in grams. Especially the flour, since cup to cup can vary so much (depending on how packed the flour is in the cup). If you are measuring the flour in cups, make sure you spoon the flour into the cup then level it off, rather than scoop it straight out of the bag.

Measuring cups and spoons

Mixing bowls – you can also use a stand mixer if you have one!

Baking sheet lined with parchment paper

Ingredients

All purpose flour

Baking powder

Fine salt – my favorite salt is Redmond Real Salt

Butter

Granulated sugar

Egg

Vanilla extract

How to Make Browned Butter Sugar Cookies

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Once melted, continue cooking, stirring frequently, until butter is deep golden brown and smells caramelized. Keep the heat low as you don’t want to burn the butter!

While the butter is browning, mix the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.

When the butter is done, remove from the heat and let it cool for a few minutes. Meanwhile, measure the sugar in a separate mixing bowl.

Pour the browned butter into the sugar and mix well. Add vanilla and egg; mix well.

Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture a little at a time, stirring well after each addition. Cover the dough and place in the refrigerator to chill while the oven preheats.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper. Add a few tablespoons of sugar to a plate. Scoop the cookie dough and roll into 1 inch balls, then roll in the sugar. Place the balls about 2 inches apart on the baking sheet.

Bake in preheated oven 10-12 minutes, or until cookies are set in the middle and the edges just begin to turn golden.

Browned Butter Sugar Cookies

Recipe by Shannon

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time

minutes

Yield

14-16

The ultimate sugar cookie – rich and buttery, with the most delicious caramelized vanilla flavor. These Browned Butter Sugar Cookies are a favorite time and time again!

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour (160 grams)
1 teaspoon baking powder (3 grams)
1/4 tsp fine salt (2 grams)
1/2 cup butter (1 stick or 113 grams)
2/3 cup granulated sugar (156 grams), plus more for rolling
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Once melted, continue cooking, stirring frequently, until butter is deep golden brown and smells caramelized.
While the butter is browning, mix the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.
When the butter is done, remove from the heat and let it cool for a few minutes. Meanwhile, measure the sugar in a separate mixing bowl.
Pour the browned butter into the sugar and mix well. Add vanilla and egg; mix well.
Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture a little at a time, stirring well after each addition. Cover the dough and place in the refrigerator to chill while the oven preheats.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper. Add a few tablespoons of sugar to a plate. Scoop the cookie dough and roll into 1 inch balls, then roll in the sugar. Place the balls about 2 inches apart on the baking sheet.
Bake in preheated oven 10-12 minutes, or until cookies are set and the edges just begin to turn golden.