⁘ anna bakes cupcakes ⁘

brown butter pumpkin cookies

soft pumpkin sugar cookies with brown butter cream cheese frosting

recipe from A baJillian Recipes


baked in October 2019

yield: 38 cookies
prep time: 1 hour
cook time: 11 minutes
difficulty level: hard

Ingredients

Cookies


Frosting


Directions

For the cookies:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with nonstick cooking spray.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cream of tarter, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice; set aside.
  3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix the butter and cream cheese together until smooth and creamy.
  4. Add the pumpkin, 1 cup granulated sugar, powdered sugar, egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and mix until fully incorporated.
  5. Gradually stir flour mixture into wet ingredients until dough comes together.
  6. Place remaining 2 Tablespoons of sugar into a small bowl.
  7. Roll dough into balls about the size of a golfball and place on the baking sheet. Repeat process with more dough until you have 10 or so balls spaced at least 2 inches apart.
  8. Coat the bottom of a glass with cooking spray, dip in the sugar, and flatten each dough ball to about 1/2-inch thickness. Spray more cooking spray on the bottom of the glass between batches, if needed.
  9. Bake cookies for 7-9 minutes or until tops look mostly dry around the edges, yet still glossy in the center--no browning.
  10. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 3-4 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the frosting:

  1. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. As the butter melts, it'll start to foam, then turn a clear golden color.
  2. Continue to stir the butter, scraping up any browned specks from the bottom of the pan as it starts to brown. It should have a nutty aroma.
  3. Once browned, pour butter into a shallow bowl and place in the freezer for about 30 minutes, or until it's solid and thoroughly chilled.
  4. Scrape the butter out into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat for about 1 minute until lightened up and creamy.
  5. Add the sour cream, vanilla, salt, and 2 1/2 cups of the powdered sugar and beat for about 3 minutes until smooth.
  6. Add cream cheese, one piece at a time, mixing well after each addition to prevent any lumps.
  7. Add the remaining 1 cup of powdered sugar, and beat for about 2 minutes until fluffy.
  8. Spread frosting onto cooled cookies. Allow frosting to set (dry) before stacking or covering in plastic wrap.

Nutrition