Introducing your new baking book obsession: The Cookie Book. The brain child of Rebecca Firth (of DisplacedHousewife and one of our favorite baking resources) this autumn release is rife with cookie inspiration.
Combining Rebecca’s stunning photography, signature witty voice, and endlessly creative cookie recipes, The Cookie Book features everything from a dozen twists on the chocolate chip cookie to a bounty of brownies and bars. What do we love the most about it? Rebecca’s warm voice comes through in each page, making it feel like she’s baking in the kitchen with you, most likely in pajamas to satisfy those late-night cookie cravings.
We’re so smitten with the cookbook that our editor-in-chief, Brian Hart Hoffman, will bake these cookies and call on Rebecca for an Instagram live chat on our feed at 3 p.m. EDT/2 p.m. CDT on Tuesday, September 18th, 2018. Tune in to watch them dish about all things cookies and to get a copy of the cookbook!
Enter our giveaway to win your own edition of The Cookie Book, which includes this recipe and so many more tips and techniques to up your cookie game. To enter, all you have to do is follow @thebakefeed and @displacedhousewife on Instagram, and like and leave a question for Rebecca in the comment section of our Monday, September 17th, post promoting the live chat. We’ll pick some of your questions to ask her during the chat! In the meantime, be sure to bake along with Brian by making these addictive muscovado packed cookies!
P.S. Craving more from this cookie guru? Rebecca also contributed five show stopping exclusive recipes to our brand new Holiday Cookies special issue!
I am head-over-heels excited to share this one with you because I’ve frankly never tasted anything like it, and that’s a good thing. I was completely inspired by the look of the stamped molasses cookies in the cookbook Sweet. I wanted to create a cookie with a wee different flavor profile and utilize cookie stamps, which are so pretty and gorgeous that I think we all need cookie stamps in our baking arsenal. Picture a sugar cookie made with brown butter and caramel-esque muscovado and loaded with holiday spices. We roll it out thick, stamp it like a boss and then drizzle with the simplest spiced maple glaze. The key to not losing the details of the stamp is giving this cookie ample freezer time and gently brushing off excess glaze.
- 24 tablespoons (344 g) unsalted butter
- 1 cup (210 g) dark muscovado sugar, packed
- ½ cup (96 g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) real vanilla extract
- 3 cups (408 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (136 g) bread flour
- 2 teaspoons (5 g) cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon allspice
- 1 teaspoon cloves
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon cardamom
- MAPLE GLAZE
- 2 cups (260 g) powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) real maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon maple extract, optional
- 4 tablespoons (60 ml) milk, or more to thin
- To make the cookies, place the butter in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan and melt over medium heat.
- Once melted, crank up the heat to medium high, stirring constantly. Small golden bits will start to settle on the bottom of the pan, and it will start to have a nutty aroma. This should take around 3 to 5 minutes. Once this happens, take the pan off of the heat and pour the butter into the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Once cooled slightly, add the muscovado and granulated sugar and mix on medium until blended. The mixture will be thick. Add in the eggs, one at a time, making sure to blend completely before adding in the next. Add in the vanilla and mix for 1 minute more. Be sure to break up any large muscovado lumps.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, bread flour, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, ginger, sea salt and cardamom. Add this to the brown butter mixture and mix on low until the mixture comes together and is no longer crumbs. Separate into two equal halves and pat each mound of dough into a disc. Typically sugar cookie dough needs a light hand. Not this dough. You’ll need to almost knead it to get it to adhere together.
- Press any cracks or fissures together.
- Place a dough disc between two layers of parchment paper. If you have a silicone baking mat, place it underneath the parchment to keep it from sliding on the counter. Roll the dough to ½-inch (1.3-cm) thickness. Pull the dough with the parchment onto a baking sheet and chill in the freezer for 5 to 10 minutes or in the fridge for 10 to 20 minutes, max. The dough should chill quickly. If at any point the dough starts sticking to the floured cookie stamps, put it back in the freezer for 5 minutes or in the fridge for 10 minutes.
- Conversely, if it’s too chilled, let it come closer to room temperature to stamp, or it will be too hard.
- Cover several baking sheets with parchment paper.
- If using cookie stamps, dip the cookie stamps in some flour and dust off the excess. Evenly press the cookie stamp onto the dough, making sure to press firmly to get the detailed imprint, and then use a fluted, round cutter to cut the cookie from the dough. Grab a spatula to move the cut-out cookie to your prepared baking sheets. Repeat with the remaining cookies.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C) and make sure a rack is in the top third of the oven at least 6 inches (15 cm) from the heat source.
- Place the cookies in the freezer for 30 minutes and then take them directly from the freezer to the top rack of the oven and bake for 9 minutes. It’s crucial not to overbake these. Let the cookies cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet and then transfer to a rack to finish cooling.
- To make the glaze, in a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, maple syrup, maple extract, if using, and milk until you have a thin glaze. Place a baking sheet underneath the cooling rack. Dip the cooled cookies into the glaze, letting the excess drip back into the bowl…you want the glaze to be thin enough that you can see the detail from the cookie stamps. Set the cookies back on the cooling rack to dry completely and serve!
Wow! I always wondered why my baked goods made with molds did not come out with crisp imprints. And maple glaze ups it a notch. Thanks for sharing your knowledge in such a warm, friendly way. Can’t wait to gift these in my holiday cookie bake!
On step 11. It ends with set the cookies… What are the rest of the instructions? Thank you!
Hey Elaine,
Sorry about that! We have updated with the remainder of the instructions! Happy baking!
These look amazing! Where did you get the cookie stamps from? Just beautiful!
These look amazing! Where are the cookie stamps from?
I made these yesterday, they turned out beautifully! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe. They are so light and tasty, perfect with coffee.
[…] of The Cookie Book + some swag) AND we’re doing a midday Instagram Live. Get all the details here. I hope to see you […]
Made these twice now and they are AMAZING! Literally need to make this every year now for Christmas! I glazed with Yotam Ottolenghi’s rum butter glaze for a boozy finish but otherwise followed exactly. So divine!
[…] 11. Spiced Brown Butter Muscovado Sugar Cookies from The … […]