Brown Sugar Cookies

Brown Sugar Cookies
This recipe comes from America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book (with a few little tweaks from me!). I listen to their radio show every week on NPR, but this is my first time making any of their recipes. The cookies turned out crisp and flavorful. Rolling them in the brown sugar mixture is a must. I tried this recipe two different ways; with semi-sweet chocolate chips and without. I actually preferred them without (I know, shocking!). While the cookie was good (not great) I have to say that this was the best dough that I have ever had. Yes, I know, it has eggs in it and there is always the dreaded risk of salmonella, but who can possibly resist the sight of unbaked cookie dough? And I have to say, cookie dough with browned butter is AMAZING. I will be trying some SAFE cookie dough recipes soon with browned butter, so stay tuned!

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup granulate sugar
• 2 cups dark brown sugar
• 2 cups plus 2 tbs (10.66 oz) all-purpose unbleached flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 16 tbs unsalted butter (2 sticks, chopped into pieces)
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tbs vanilla extract

Directions

1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Whisk the granulated sugar and 1/4 cup of  the brown sugar together in a shallow dish for rolling the cookies in, set aside. 
3. In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, and baking powder.
4. In a medium skillet (preferably light colored), melt 12 tablespoons of the butter over medium-high heat. Use a heat-resistant silcone spatula to wipe down the sides as it cooks. You will want to swirl the butter in the pan or stir it with the spatula almost constantly to make sure that the milk solids do not burn. Once the solids turn a deep golden color (you will see tiny little brown flakes, this is okay!), remove from heat and immediately put it into a different bowl (this makes the butter stop cooking and keeps it from burning). Mix in the remaining butter and stir until all the butter is melted. Allow the butter mixture to cool for at least 15 minutes
5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
6. In a large mixing bowl (or in your stand mixer) combine the cooled butter with the remaining brown sugar. Add the salt and vanilla and mix until just combined (about 1 minute in a mixer on medium). In a small bowl, beat the two eggs together and add to the mixture. Combine on medium speed until combined (30 seconds).
7. Slowly add the flour mixture to the sugar/butter mixture until flour is completely incorporated. (On low speed about 1 to 2 minutes)
8. Let the dough rest for 1 hour in the refrigerator (up to overnight).
9. With a 1 tbs measure (or with a cookie scoop) scoop up dough and form into 1 inch balls. It works best to do this with your hands wet... I know it sounds odd, but it really works well!
10. Roll the balls in the brown sugar/white sugar mixture and place on the baking sheets, about 2 inches apart.
11. Cook for 12 minutes, turning the pans 180 degrees at the 6 minute mark. They should be golden brown and just starting to crack on top. The cookies will be crisp on the edges, but still have a soft center.
12. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes. Remove to wire racks and let cool completely.
13. These will store quite nicely in an airtight container for 1 week.

Things I'll try next time
 The recipe called for baking these cookies 12 to 14 minutes and that was just too long for my gas oven. Even cooking them for 10 minutes (and rotating the sheet after 5 minutes) was too long. I think I will try cooling the dough in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour before baking. I may also try using cake flour instead of all-purpose flour. As for browning the butter: I will be adding a post soon about my adventures in butter-browning so stay tuned!