Shortbread Cookie aka the Best Shortbread Cookie

 

With a dozen recipes for shortbread cookies on the blog, why on earth would I possibly add one more?  Well, the truth is I have been debating for more than a year on whether or not I would even share this recipe with you. Not because I have any plans to open up a bakery or cookie catering business. Not because it's such a difficult cookie to make that no one would be enticed to make it. Not because I am launching a Substack and plan on charging for this recipe. And definitely not because I am going to write a cookbook someday and am holding onto to this recipe until then. No, not for any of those reasons. So exactly what has kept this absolutely BEST shortbread cookie in my 'recipe vault'? 

This is the first recipe where the measurements are only in either grams or teaspoons. For all of my friends who live outside of the United States this wouldn't actually be a good enough reason to hold out on sharing a recipe. And for all of my friends who I have been able to convince over the past ten years that weighing out ingredients when baking is the preferred, best, only way to bake, this too would be a lame reason for keeping this drop-the-mic, throwdown worthy cookie recipe to myself. But for anyone else who still uses measuring cups when baking, this may not be a recipe you are inspired to make. Unless of course, you tasted them and then instantly converted to becoming the baker who weighs their ingredients/ And you finally discover firsthand just how much of a huge difference it makes in the taste, texture, and consistency of your baked confections.

The second, and maybe the most important, reason I have not let this recipe see the light of day is because there is one (potentially deal breaking) ingredient not easily accessible at the grocery store. An ingredient that turns a better than ordinary shortbread cookie into an incredibly spectacular, swoon worthy, throw down winning worthy, could make you famous one day shortbread cookie. And that ingredient is the flour. Yes, the flour. Because flour can make a significant difference in baking as not only does its' protein content highly influence structure, texture and flavor, it turns out that how flour is milled matters too. Stone milled versus rolled all-purpose flours can result in richer, nuttier, more flavorful baked goods. In other words, stone milled flours are a baker's best friend. Last, but not least, the kind of wheat used in the flour has a significant influencer on flavor. What I discovered in the last year is that Janie's Organic All-Purpose Flour, a high-quality flour, stone milled in a small town in central Illinois, is one of those flours that significantly affect the quality, taste and flavor of baked goods. Especially in these Shortbread Cookies.

After a great deal of deliberation, I decided perceived inaccessibility to a key ingredient wasn't a good enough reason to keep this recipe to myself. Because even if you can't find it where you live, it can be ordered directly from Janie's Mill. In a day in age where we think nothing of ordering online, being able to purchase an organic all-purpose flour from a family-owned farm in Illinois from your phone or computer truly makes the world flat. And, without exaggeration, this flour might also enable you to make the most spectacular shortbread cookies in the universe. Or at least worshipped amongst your family and friends.

The dough for this shortbread comes together easily and doesn't need chilling. Additionally, it is completely unnecessary to sift the flour. As it turns out, sifting flour when making dense, crisp cookies versus when making softer, lighter cookies like macaroons, is a wasted step. Today's flours are much more refined than they were in the past, thus eliminating the clumps that sifting process had provided. Whisking the flour and salt together provides the necessary aeration and will break up any rogue clumps.

The shortbread cookies should be rolled out to a thickness of somewhere between 3/8" and 1/4". Baking time might vary slightly between these two thicknesses. 

How much sparkling sugar you put on the rolled out dough will depend on whether or not you plan to dip or drizzle them in chocolate. For a non-chocolate dipped cookie, be more generous with the sparkling sugar. For a chocolate dipped cookie, you might want to (but don't have to) sprinkle the sugar on one half of the cookie, saving the other half for dipping. 

These Shortbread Cookies are absolutely delicious without the additional chocolate and/or chopped nuts. However, the addition of the chocolate and nuts significantly raises the deliciousness bar! I have dipped them in both milk/dark chocolate and in white chocolate. Personally, I like the flavor combination of the rich buttery shortbread cookie and the creaminess of white chocolate. 

If I ever go back to making cookie boxes at Christmas, these will definitely be one of the cookies included in them. Although, this Shortbread Cookie shouldn't be pigeon-holed in the Christmas cookie category. It's a cookie so divinely delicious; it's one you should be making all year round. These Shortbread Cookies would make great hostess gifts, get well gifts, housewarming gifts and/or should be brought to your book clubs. They would also be great to just have on hand to enjoy with a cup of tea or coffee. 

They say 2026 will be a year characterized by new beginnings. I genuinely hope making the recipe for these Shortbread Cookies aka the Best Shortbread Cookies is one of many of your new beginnings. While I don't where this blog is headed in the year ahead, it's possible there will be more recipes that get you to rethink (i.e., change) how you cook, how you bake, and how you entertain. We can grow and change together. I wish you only best days ahead in 2026!

Recipe

Shortbread Cookie aka the Best Shortbread Cookie

Makes 22-24 4 inch cookies

Ingredients

340g unsalted butter, highly recommend a European style butter (see notes)

150g granulated sugar

2 1/2 teaspoons good quality vanilla

475g organic all-purpose flour (see notes)

1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

Sparkling sugar (not granulated sugar)

226g white, milk or dark chocolate, melted

Finely chopped pistachios or toasted hazelnuts

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.

2. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter until creamy (approximately 2-3 minutes).

3. Add in the granulated sugar and beat for another 3-4 minutes. Mixture should be smooth and fluffy.

4. Beat in the vanilla just until blended.

5. Whisk together the flour and the Kosher salt. Add in the dry ingredients in three additions. Beat until the dough comes together and begins to pull away from the side. 

6. On a lightly floured surface scoop out half of the dough. Roll out to at least 3/8" thickness but not more than 1/4" thickness. Cut out with preferred cookie cutter shape. Transfer cookies to one of the prepared baking sheets. Sprinkle with sparkling sugar.

7. Place in oven and bake for 20-22 minutes or until the edges of the cookie have browned. Rotate cookie sheet midway through the baking process.

8. Remove cookies and allow to cool on the cookie sheet for another 6-8 minutes. Then transfer to a cooling rack.

9. Repeat the rolling, cutting, sprinkling with sugar and baking with the remaining dough.

10. When all of the cookies have cooled completely, dip half of them in melted white chocolate. Before the chocolate sets, sprinkle with finely chopped pistachios or hazelnuts.

11. After the chocolate has completely set, serve and enjoy! Or package up into containers and/or cellophane bags and share with friends!

Notes: (1) For the absolute best shortbread cookie, use only Janie's Mill Organic All-Purpose Flour. You can find it at some specialty grocery stores and/or at some bakeries. Or you can purchase it online. Once opened, store the unused flour in the refrigerator. (2) The amount of butter used equates to three sticks of butter. Use either all European style butter (i.e., Kerrygold) or 2 sticks of a European butter and 1 stick of another good quality unsalted butter. Both options will yield great results. (3) You can make this shortbread using King Arthur's Organic All-Purpose Flour but I can't guarantee that everyone will be doing handstands when they eat this cookie. (4) This is the cookie cutter from Williams-Sonoma I used when making these cookies.

The Grand Tetons, one of my happy places. September 2024.

Butterscotch, Coconut & Oatmeal Cookies

Up until this brief weekend snow here in the Midwest, we had been having one the most exquisite fall seasons. However, I will say the contrast of trees still holding onto their jewel toned leaves and a white carpet of snow is in its' own way also a stunning aesthetic landscape. Now if there had been enough snow to be shoveled, I am not sure I would appreciate the beauty of seasons crossing over one another in early November. If there was one season I wish could last almost indefinitely, it would be the fall. And if there was one cookie that had all the autumnal vibes it would be these gorgeous, rustic looking, quite possibly contest winning Butterscotch, Coconut & Oatmeal Cookies. While I would be more than happy to eat this cookie year-round, there is something about its' flavor profile and texture that gives me all the fall feels. Maybe it's due in part to an unexplainable association between the fall and flavor of butterscotch or maybe it's how the flavor notes of butterscotch just hit differently on the palate when there is a chill in the air. 

If you have already scrolled down to look at the list of ingredients, you might be thinking 'these sound awfully similar to the Cowboy Cookies (revisited) posted on the blog'. And you would be partially right as they share many of the same ingredients, although the amounts somewhat vary. More importantly the Cowboy Cookies are made with both butterscotch and chocolate chips along with some cinnamon for a spiced depth of flavor while these Butterscotch, Coconut & Oatmeal Cookies are chocolate and cinnamon free. Additionally, this cookie uses both light and dark brown sugars rather than only light brown sugar. Could you use half butterscotch and half chocolate chips in this recipe? You could, but it significantly changes the flavor profile. And as much as I love chocolate, this cookie wants only to be butterscotch forward.

As far as cookies go, this is a pretty straight forward recipe. However, it's one where measuring the ingredients matters (I know I harp on this all of time, but for good reason!). I don't know about you but I have always struggled with measuring sweetened coconut. Do I press it down in the measuring cup like brown sugar or do I just spoon it in? What I have learned over time is that neither of those measuring options will get you the amount of coconut you need. 

Over the course of my decades long baking life, I have shifted my thinking about all-purpose flour. In other words, my flour loyalties have both changed and evolved. My all-purpose flour choices these days are either commercially available or locally sourced Organic All-purpose. So why have I turned into this flour fussytarian? Well for two significant reasons. Organic flour generally has a more complex, robust flavor (due to less processing) and has a better gluten structure (leading to more superior results in baking). Which means I am now a HUGE believer in the game changing power of organic flour.

The dough initially comes together in a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment; however, it is finished in a large bowl with either a wooden spoon or spatula. The reason for this is to prevent 'overmixing' or toughening the finished cookie. 

I used two full bags (11 ounces each) of butterscotch chips in these cookies. That amount of chips required careful mixing to fully incorporate the chips into the batter. You don't want a dough ball that's all chips. So, in the recipe below I suggest you back off the full 22 ounces and instead use about 18 ounces. Will I reduce the amount of butterscotch chips the next time I make up a batch. Maybe, maybe not. So, the choice is yours.

These cookies benefit from being chilled in the refrigerator before baking. Chill the balls of dough for as little as one hour or for up to 24 hours. The dough yields about 20-21 golf ball sized cookie balls. I used a large (2 1/4 in diameter) ice cream scoop but you can make them freestyle. Just remember you want your cookies uniformed sized, so they bake up evenly. Note: The recommended baking time is based on forming the dough into 20-21 balls of dough.

Baking time on the cookies ranges from 20-22 minutes (I was closer to the 22 minute mark). The finished cookie should be golden brown along the edges yet still slightly soft in the center. After cooling the baked cookies on the baking sheet, the finished cookie should be crispy and craggily on the outside and chewy on the inside. These two textures create the most divinely delicious, decadent cookie. It's also one that looks more like a high-end bakery cookie than a homemade one. To get that bakery finished look, I always use a large round cookie cutter or small, clear glass bowl to shape my cookies as soon as I take them out of the oven. It's a simple technique that gives you eye candy worthy, impressive looking, perfectly round cookies. And a platter of captivating looking cookies makes them beyond irresistible! 

I am pretty certain that after you take one bite of this scrumptious, mouthwatering delicious cookie, (especially if you first taste it still a bit warm) it will be akin to experiencing a drop the mic moment. These Butterscotch, Coconut & Oatmeal Cookies are the obsession in your life you didn't know you needed. Until now that is.

Recipe

Butterscotch, Coconut & Oatmeal Cookies 

Makes 20-21 bakery sized cookies

Ingredients

2 cups (260g) organic all-purpose flour (see notes)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon Kosher salt

1 cup (226g) unsalted butter, slightly room temperature

1 cup (200g) granulated sugar

1/2 cup (100g) light brown sugar

1/2 cup (100g) dark brown sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups (180g) old-fashioned oats

1 cup (120g) sweetened coconut

1 cup (125g) toasted walnut or pecan halves, chopped (not too fine, not too coarse)

18-22 ounces (509-622g) Butterscotch Chips (see notes)

Flaky sea salt (highly recommend Maldon)

Directions

1. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter for approximately 2 minutes. Scrape the bowl and add in the granulated and brown sugars. Beat for approximately 3-4 minutes or until just creamy.

2. Beat in the eggs one at time. Beat until well incorporated.

3. Beat in the vanilla.

4. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and Kosher salt. Add into the butter/sugar mixture in 3 additions.

5. Add in the oatmeal and coconut. Mix until blended.

6. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Add in the butterscotch chips and nuts. Use a wooden spoon or spatula to mix. Mix well.

7. Using a large ice cream scoop (2 1/4' in diameter) make 20 dough balls. Place on a baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour or overnight.

8. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

9. Place 6 balls of dough on the prepared baking sheet. Very lightly sprinkle with sea salt. Bake for 20-22 minutes or until the edges are golden (the cookies will be set but slightly soft in the center). Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet.

10. Repeat until all of the cookies are baked.

11. Store cookies in a metal tin, wrapped in cellophane bags or nestled in glassine bakery bags. For the fresh out of the oven taste, reheat individual cookies for 12-15 seconds in the microwave on high.

Notes: (1) Highly recommend using King Arthur's Organic Flour when making these cookies. (2) I used two bags of the Nestle Butterscotch Chips. You need to mix them in well into the batter. If you don't you might end with a few cookies loaded with chips. To avoid that issue, you could use 18 ounces instead of 22 ounces. (3) You can make a half batch of these cookies by dividing all of the ingredients in half. Or you can bake up half of the cookies and freeze the remaining dough balls to bake up a later time.

White Chocolate Chip Snickerdoodles - Levain Style

In full disclosure I was well into my adulthood before I had my first taste of a snickerdoodle. And up until that point I am pretty sure I had never heard of those soft, chewy, slightly cakey, full of sweet cinnamon-sugar flavor cookies before that. Maybe if I had grown up in a Dutch, German or Amish home, I would have. And it was actually mindboggling to learn snickerdoodles have been around since the 1800s. Yet, in spite of their two century's old history, they never found a way into my childhood. 

If, by chance, I could time travel back to my youth these humongous, gorgeous, divinely delicious White Chocolate Chip Snickerdoodles (Levain Style) would be the ones, the only ones, I would have wanted waiting for me after-school or finding in the cookie jar. Because this version of a snickerdoodle is nothing short of pure cookie insanity. Even the most loyal chocolate chip cookie eater would find these snickerdoodle cookies irresistible. 

So, what makes these White Chocolate Chip Snickerdoodles (Levain Style) so extraordinary, so different than the more traditional, classic version? To start with, the ingredients go well beyond butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, salt and cinnamon. This version includes the use of baking powder, the use of both an egg and (two) egg yolks, a generous amount of cinnamon, brown sugar as well as granulated sugar, cornstarch, white chocolate chips and a flaky sea salt finish. All which help to create the dreamiest, most decadent, swoonworthy type of snickerdoodles. 

But more than just the ingredients, the assembly and baking process is drastically different. While many snickerdoodle recipes call for room temperature butter, this one calls for chilled butter. An unlike most traditional recipes which are baked as soon as the batter comes together, these snickerdoodles require a 24-hour freezing time. That freezing time allows the butter and sugars to meld (creating an even richer tasting cookie), reduces the amount of spread during baking (creating a thick, luscious cookie), and enables the flour to become hydrated (contributing to an even chewier texture). 

If there is one downside to this recipe it's that it only makes ten cookies. But with the dough divided into ten 4.5 ounce balls (shaped into tall cylindrical rather than round mounds) the baked snickerdoodles end up being almost 4.5 inches in diameter, having a significant thickness as well as looking like they came from a high-end bakery. 

The baking temperature in snickerdoodle recipes ranges anywhere from 325 to 400 degrees (F). Rather than baking these cookies at a high temperature for a short period of time, these are baked at the lower 325 degrees (F) temperature for somewhere between 24-26 minutes. The longer baking time and lower baking temperature truly create the most beautiful, perfectly textured, some scrumptious snickerdoodles. Your head will be spinning after you bite into them! And the addition of white chocolate chips to them and a flaky sea salt finish are game changers.

If you have never had a snickerdoodle before or have a rather indifferent opinion about them, you need to make these bar-raising, deeply flavorful, pillowy, cinnamon-y White Chocolate Chip Snickerdoodles (Levain Style). I promise your cookie eating life will be changed forever (for the better!). 

Recipe

White Chocolate Chip Snickerdoodles - Levain Style

Makes 10 ginormous cookies

Ingredients

3 1/4 cups (405g) all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons (6g) cream of tartar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/4 teaspoons cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 cup (226g) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into cubes

1 cup (200g) light brown sugar

1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar

1 large egg

2 large egg yolks

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 1/3 cups (230g) white chocolate chips

Flaky Sea Salt (for finishing)

3 Tablespoons granulated sugar

1 Tablespoon cinnamon

Directions

1. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, cream of tartar, baking powder, baking soda, cornstarch, cinnamon, and Kosher salt. Set aside.

2. In the bowl of a standing mixer, beat the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until well combined but not overly creamy (you will still see some small pieces of butter).

3. Beat in the egg and egg yolks until well blended.

4. Mix in the vanilla.

5. Add in the dry ingredients in two additions. Beat until blended.

6. Mix in the white chocolate chips.

7. Divide the cookies into 10 even pieces (they should each weight 4.5 ounces or 127g). Shape the cookies so they are taller than they are wide (think cylindrical).

8. Mix together the 3 Tablespoons of granulated sugar and 1 Tablespoon cinnamon. Roll the cookies in the cinnamon sugar mixture. Use all of the cinnamon/sugar mixture.

9. Put the dough on a small sheet pan, cover well with plastic wrap and freeze for 24 hours.

10. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees (F).

11. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Place 5 dough balls on each sheet, spreading out even as the cookies will spread as they bake.

12. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt.

13. Baking one sheet at a time bake the cookies for 24-26 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool on baking sheet for 10-12 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.

14. Enjoy immediately or wrap in glassine or cellophane bags.

15. Note: The cookies are at their absolute best on the day they are baked. They are still very delicious on day two and three (if they last that long) but keep stored in an airtight container.

Grand Tetons, Jackson Hole, Wyoming (September 2024)

Chewy Ginger Cookies w/ Cream Cheese Filling

"You can be miserable before you eat a cookie and you can be miserable after you eat a cookie, but you can't be miserable while you're eating a cookie." (Ina Garten). That is one of my all-time favorite quotes from the Barefoot Contessa. So how exactly should you feel while eating a cookie? Or more specifically, how exactly should you feel eating this intensely spiced, textured Chewy Ginger Cookie w/ Cream Cheese Filling? Delirious, in seventh heaven, blissful, and/or obsessed? Yes, all of them. Because this cookie is so tantalizing to your taste buds you might remain on a cookie high for hours afterwards.

I have been obsessed with wanting to replicate one of my favorite cookies at one of my favorite bakeries (Broken Tart in Oak Park) for a while now. And I think I have come really, really close to creating one worthy of competing with theirs. With its crispy edges and slightly underdone center, this chewy ginger cookie paired with a luscious cream cheese filling is seriously ambrosial. If you love a spicy gingery, chewy molasses cookie, this cookie just might be the ginger cookie of your dreams!

Unlike most ginger cookie recipes, this one does not require any chill time. This is a cookie you want to spread (rather than puff up) and be on the slightly thin side (but still have some heft to it). And because it is made with only butter and not shortening or a butter/shortening combination, the cookie retains a buttery flavor even with the competing flavors of the molasses and the spices. There are many different spice combinations for a ginger cookie. The 2 to 1 ginger to cinnamon ratio along with some ground cloves and allspice give this cookie a perfect depth of spiciness. Please don't be tempted to scale back on the amounts of any of the spices or eliminate any of them as its this combination that gives the cookie its etherealness. 

If there was ever a time when a scale becomes more of a necessity than a nice to have, its in the making of these cookies. You want the cookies to all weigh the same (55g) so that when baked they come out the exact same size. This is important not only to ensure all of the cookies on the tray bake evenly, but to ensure the tops and bottoms of your sandwich cookies match up evenly. Note: This cookie uses the pan banging method and the use of a large round cookie cutter or bowl to shape them. Finished cookies should about 4" in diameter.

While the cookies are fabulous all on their own, they are next level when made into a sandwich cookie. The luscious cream cheese icing pairs perfectly with the cookies as it ever so slightly tempers the sweetness of the cookie. On a side note, a butter/confectionary sugar icing would make this cookie much too sweet. 

This is a large (slightly larger than 4" in diameter) cookie. Some of you will be able to eat an entire cookie in one sitting, while others of you may be satisfied after eating only a half of a cookie. 

Ginger cookie lovers are a diverse group of individuals. Some like a very crispy ginger cookie, some like a crisp around the perimeter and chewy in the center cookie, some like them thin and snappy, some like them thick and crunchy, and some like them dipped in white chocolate. This Chewy Ginger Cookies w/ Cream Cheese Filling will speak the ginger cookie love language to many ginger cookie aficionados. It might also redefine what Ginger Cookie Greatness should taste like. 

Recipe

Chewy Ginger Cookies w/ Cream Cheese Filling

Makes 20 bakery sized (4" sized) cookies or 10 bakery sized (4" sized) sandwich cookies

Ingredients

Chewy Ginger Cookies

3 cups (420g) all-purpose unbleached flour (e.g., King Arthur)

3/4 teaspoon Kosher salt

2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

4 teaspoons ground ginger

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1 cup (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar

3/4 cup (155g) dark brown sugar

6 Tablespoons (120g) molasses (see notes)

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

1 teaspoon vanilla

Additional granulated sugar for rolling

Cream Cheese Filling

1 cup (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature

8 ounces (226g) cream cheese, slightly softened

4 cups (480g) confectionary sugar

Pinch of Kosher salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

Chewy Ginger Cookies

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

2. In a medium sized bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, Kosher salt, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and allspice. Whisk to blend. Set aside.

3. In the bowl of a standing mixer, cream butter (about 1 minute).

4. Add in the granulated and dark brown sugars. Cream until creamy and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes).

5. Beat in the molasses.

6. Add in the egg and egg yolk, one at a time. Beat until well blended. Scrape sides of the bowl between egg additions.

7. Beat in the vanilla. 

8. Add in the dry ingredients in 3 additions. Beat until well blended. 

9. Make a small bowl filled with granulated sugar.

10. Create 20 balls of dough (55g each). Note: It's important that all balls of dough weigh the same.

11. Roll six balls of dough in the sugar. Place the six balls (well spaced) on one of the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until set on the edges but still slightly soft in the middle. Remove from oven. Bang the pan on the counter. Use the bowl technique to round out each cookie (you want them as uniform as possible). Allow them to rest on cookie sheet for 3-4 minutes. Remove and place on a cooling rack. Let cool completely.

12. Repeat with remaining dough balls.

Cream Cheese Filling

1. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter.

2. Add in the cream cheese. Beat until well blended.

3. Mix in the salt and the vanilla.

4. Add in the confectionary sugar in 3 to 4 additions. Beat until creamy and fluffy. Use immediately or cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

5. Fill a piping bag fitted with a round pastry tip. Pipe the icing on one side of the room temperature cookies. Top with another cookie. Press down slightly. Note: Pipe starting near the edge of the cookie and work inward.

6. Serve immediately or chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Note: Cookies are great chilled or at room temperature. Remove from the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before serving if you like less chilled cookies. If well wrapped in the refrigerator they will be good for at least 4 to 5 days (if they last that long).

Notes: (1) I generally use King Arthur unbleached all-purpose flour. (2) I used Grandma's Original molasses, not the robust molasses. (3) 6 Tablespoons of molasses is a little more than 1/3 cup, but recommend you weigh it (as it's easier). (4) No chilling time is required for these cookies. (5) You will have a little of the cream cheese icing left over. Buy a couple of unfrosted chocolate muffins from the grocery store and ice them. (6) My other favorite Ginger Cookie is this one.

Mystic Seaport Museum, Mystic, CT (May 2025)

Molasses Crinkle Cookies w/ Brown Butter Icing

I can't remember a fall season more beautiful than the one we are currently having. Crisp weather, spectacular landscapes, seasonal vegetables, crackling fires, the Thanksgiving holiday, and the aroma of richly spiced cookies baking in the oven are just some of things giving fall the edge as being the best season of all. While baking fruit crisps, pies, and loaves of pumpkin bread are autumnal traditions, we would be remiss if cookies weren't part of the seasonal confections. If there were a cookie to best capture flavors associated with the fall, it would absolutely be these intensely scrumptious Molasses Crinkle Cookies with Brown Butter Icing. 

What is not to love about a gorgeous, glistening cookie, packed with the flavors of warm spices and topped with a luscious brown butter icing? Crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside, these Molasses Crinkle Cookies with Brown Butter Icing are destined to become a family favorite. Their crave worthiness will extend well past the fall season as you are likely to continue baking them for the Christmas holiday season and throughout the winter. What better way to take the chill off of a cold day than with a hot cup of coffee and a richly spiced cookie!

While most molasses crinkle cookies are simply rolled in either granulated sugar or confectionary sugar, these cookies get two finishing touches. First rolled in granulated sugar and baked in the oven, and then heavily drizzled with a luscious brown butter icing. The icing kicks the simple molasses crinkle cookie up at least two notches, maybe three. The textures and flavors of the cookie and the icing, along with the signature cracks, are what makes them extraordinary. It's definitely a cookie you have to make for your family and friends!

In spite of not being made with butter, these cookies are packed with flavor. With the exception of dark or robust molasses, you may already have all of the ingredients. While the recipe calls for 2 1/4 cups of sugar, only 1 3/4 cups of the sugar go into the batter. The remaining 1/2 cup of sugar is used to coat the balls of dough. Yes, there is one tablespoon of baking soda used in this recipe. That is not a mistake. 

The batter comes together easily in a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. To make evenly sized cookies, I highly recommend using an ice cream scoop (one about 1 3/4 inches in diameter). If you don't have one that size, break up the dough into 22 even sized pieces and then roll them into balls. They should be about the size of ping-pong balls. 

In a preheated 350 degree (F) oven, the cookies bake for 12-14 minutes. For a crispier cookie, your baking time will closer to the 14 minute mark. Once baked, allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Bake only 9 cookies at a time on your baking sheet as they will spread. 

I have dipped my ginger cookies in melted white chocolate, but in all honestly, I think the flavor of a brown butter icing is an even better finishing touch. The creaminess, spiciness and nuttiness of the icing helps to create the most divinely delicious, mouthwatering molasses cookie.

The key to making the absolutely best brown butter icing is to brown your butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cooking time will range from 2 to 3 minutes. The cooked butter should be golden brown and there should be little bits of toasted butter swirling on the bottom of the pan. Once browned, the butter should be removed from the heat and allowed to cool for 5-6 minutes before the remaining icing ingredients are added. The thickness of your icing will depend on how much whole milk you add. Begin with two tablespoons and increase in teaspoonfuls until you get your desired consistency (I used a tad more than 3 Tablespoons of milk). Use a fork or whisk to drizzle the icing over the cooled cookies. Allow the icing to completely set before you stack them or package them up. 

These Molasses Crinkle Cookies w/ Brown Butter Icing were hands down winners! They are gorgeous, heavenly, luscious cookies! If you love the flavors of molasses, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves in a cookie, these are must make. With no rolling or chilling required, they are one of the easiest cookies to make. From start to finish you can make these cookies in less than an hour. If there was one cookie you wanted to serve on Thanksgiving or give to your friends after they run a morning Turkey Trot, these should be the ones!  

Recipe

Molasses Crinkle Cookies w/ Brown Butter Icing

Makes 22 large sized (3") cookies

Ingredients

Cookies

1 cup canola oil

2 1/4 cups (450g) granulated sugar, divided

1/3 cup dark or robust molasses

1 large egg, room temperature

3 cups (390g) all-purpose flour

1 Tablespoon baking soda

1 Tablespoon ginger

1 1/2 teaspoons Saigon cinnamon

3/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

Brown Butter Icing

1/2 cup (113g) unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups (180g) confectionary sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

1/8 teaspoon Saigon cinnamon

2 to 3 Tablespoons whole milk

Directions

Cookies

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

2. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the oil and 1 3/4 cups sugar together until well blended.

3. Add in the molasses and egg. Mix to completely blend.

4. Mix together the dry ingredients. Add in the molasses batter. Mix well.

5. Use a medium sized ice cream scoop (about 1 3/4" in diameter), to form the balls of dough. Roll the balls in the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar.

6. Place 9 balls of dough on a prepared baking sheet. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes. Remove and transfer to a cooling rack. Continue baking until all of the balls of dough are baked. Note: For a crispier cookie, your baking time will be closer to the 14 minute mark. For a chewier cookie, check for doneness at 12 minutes.

Brown Butter Icing

1. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Cook for approximately 2-3 minutes or until the butter is golden brown and smells nutty. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for 5-6 minutes.

2. In a medium sized bowl, combine the confectionary sugar, vanilla bean paste, cinnamon and 2 Tablespoons of whole milk. Add in the slightly cooled browned butter. Whisk to desired consistency. Note: You may need to add at least another tablespoon of milk.

3. Use a fork or whisk to drizzle the icing over the cooled cookies.

4. Allow the icing to set before serving, packaging or storing.

5. Cookies will remain fresh for up to 5-6 days.

Notes: (1) You can ice these cookies in melted white chocolate, but I urge you to first try them with the brown butter icing. 

Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL (November 2024)

Iced Oatmeal Cranberry Toffee Cookies

Have you ever traveled somewhere and wished you never had to leave? To a place so beautiful you could hardly resist the urge to weep. More than likely you too have been to places where you felt a strong, unexplained connection. A return trip to the Grand Tetons in Wyoming this past September validated everything I felt on my first trip there in May. I am beyond smitten with the photogenic vistas, the aura, the wildlife, and even the food. Particularly the droolworthy Homemade Brioche French Toast on a bed of whipped mascarpone and topped with an Apricot and Orange Compote from Persephone Bakery in downtown Jackson. I am still dreaming about that breakfast. If I had room in my suitcase I would have filled it with their jams, honey, breads, and baked goods. Especially their cookies. 

As soon as I returned home, I did a search for recipes from Persephone Bakery (they really need to publish a cookbook). While I only found a very small handful of them, I did find an unverified recipe for one of their oatmeal cookies. As someone who happens to love oatmeal cookies, this recipe intrigued me. Made with brown sugar, dried cranberries and toffee bits (but no chocolate and no icing), a hint of cinnamon, and a fair amount of butter, I thought this was my kind of cookie. By now, you have already guessed it was.

In spite of the fact that there are already seven oatmeal cookie recipes on the blog, I knew there was room in my oatmeal cookie loving life for another one. One bite of these slightly sweet, a little bit salty, dense, deeply flavorful Iced Oatmeal Cranberry Toffee Cookies and I knew I wouldn't be the only one who discovered their oatmeal cookie eating life would never again be the same. These cookies are phenomenally delicious. They are the kind of cookie you will make to impress your family and friends, to enter into an oatmeal cookie throw down contest, and/or to just simply help you live your best oatmeal cookie life.

With the exception of toffee bits and dried cranberries, all of the cookie's ingredients are pantry staples. However, after you make these cookies, you will probably always have a couple of bags of toffee bits and dried cranberries in your pantry. After looking at the recipe found online, I made a few, simple changes. I increased the amount to dried cranberries to 1 1/4 cups, increased the amount of vanilla to 2 teaspoons, increased the flour from 1 1/3 cups to 2 1/8 cups, doubled the amount of butter, and added icing as a finishing touch. Without any direction as to how big or small to make these cookies, I decided using my large ice cream (2 1/4" in diameter) scoop to form the balls of dough would make them bakery sized. Additionally I decided to give the balls of dough a brief period of chilling (60-90 minutes) in the refrigerator before baking. Because chilling helps to ensure a really thick, chewy cookie. All of these decisions turned out to be good ones.

If you don't have a large ice cream scoop, you could use generously fill a quarter cup measuring cup to form the balls of dough. You want to end up with 16-17 balls of dough.

In a preheated 350 degree(F)F oven, the baking time for the cookies will range from 20-22 minutes or until they are golden brown along the edges. The cookies may seem a bit soft in the center, but they will firm up as they cool on the baking sheet. When placing the chilled balls of dough on a parchment paper lined baking sheet, press them down slightly (just enough to flatted the dome on the balls) before baking.

Once the cookies have cooled, use a spoon or fork to drizzle the icing. There are only three ingredients in the icing: confectionary sugar, whole milk, and vanilla. You can use regular vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste. I used the paste because I wanted flecks of vanilla in my icing. There won't be a difference in flavor between the extract or the paste, but there will be a visual difference. For a 'bakery' finish look to your cookies, I highly recommend using the vanilla bean paste.

The kind of oatmeal cookies that I love have a bit of a crispy edge but they absolutely must be thick and chewy. And these Iced Oatmeal Cranberry Toffee Cookies deliver on both flavor and texture. More importantly, they are unlike any of the other seven oatmeal cookie recipes on the blog. While they may fall into the 'dessert' category, you could make a case for them falling into the breakfast category. After all, they are made with oatmeal!

If you are looking the perfect autumnal cookie, you have now found it. These Iced Oatmeal Cranberry Toffee Cookies are destined to be your new fall favorites! Although after tasting them, they might also turn into you new winter favorites!

Recipe

Iced Oatmeal Cranberry Toffee Cookies

Makes 16-17 large cookies - 4" in diameter cookies

Updated October 4, 2024

Ingredients

Cookies

3/4 pound (339g) unsalted butter, room temperature (e.g., 3 sticks of unsalted butter)

3/4 cup (150g) light brown sugar (firmly packed if using a measuring cup)

1 large egg, lightly beaten

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 1/8 cups (277g) all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon Kosher salt

1/2 heaping teaspoon cinnamon

2 1/4 cups (215g) old-fashioned rolled oats

1 1/4 cups (188g) dried sweetened cranberries

1 1/2 cups (225g) english toffee pieces (see notes)

Icing

1 cup (130g) confectionary sugar

2 Tablespoons whole milk (slightly more if consistency is too thick)

1/4 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract

Directions

Cookies

1. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter (approximately 1 minute).

2. Add in the brown sugar and beat until smooth (approximately 2-3 minutes).

3. In a small bowl, combine the lightly beaten egg with the vanilla. With the mixer on low, pour the mixture in a steady stream into the butter/sugar mixture. Beat until blended.

4. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, Kosher salt, and cinnamon. Add in to the mixture. Mix until blended but do not over mix.

5. Add in the oats, dried cranberries, and toffee chips. Mix until blended.

6. Using a large ice cream scoop (2 1/4" in diameter) form 16-17 balls. Place on a small baking sheet. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for 60-90 minutes. Note: The balls of dough should weigh 3 ounces or 86g)

7. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

8. Remove 6 dough balls and place (well spaced apart) on one of the baking sheets. Gently press down the top of each cookie (to remove the round dome). Bake the first batch of cookies for 20-22 minutes or until golden brown along the edges. Note: Check cookies at the 18 minute mark. If some of the cookies remain domed, press down lightly with a spatula. You want your cookies to have an even thickness.

9. Remove from the oven and let cookies cool on the baking sheet. Note: For perfectly rounded cookies use a bowl or pastry ring to swirl the cookies to round the edges. Do this immediately when the cookies come out of the oven.

10. Repeat with remaining dough balls.

11. Allow all of the cookies to come to room temperature before icing.

Icing

1. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the confectionary sugar, milk, and vanilla. Whisk until smooth.

2. Use a spoon or fork to drizzle the icing over the room temperature cookies. Let the icing set.

3. Enjoy the cookies immediately or store in either cellophane (not plastic) bags or a baking tin. Keep at room temperature. Cookies will be good for up to 4 days.

Notes: (1) I buy my sweetened dried cranberries from Trader Joe's. (2) I used the Heath English Toffee Bits (i.e., Bits O' Brickle). The 8 ounce (226g) bag gives you only slightly more than you need in this recipe. Do not buy the toffee bits coated in chocolate.

Mormon Row, Grand Tetons, Jackson, Wyoming (September2024)