The Aaron Rand Brown Butter Spice Cookie

The Aaron Rand Brown butter spice cookie!

The delightful Aaron Rand and Natasha Hall, cohosts of Montreal Now on CJAD 800, were gifted cookie cutters of their faces. In chatting with their producer, Robyn Flynn, we thought it would be fun to do the Great CJAD 800AM Cookie Face-off.

I developed two cookie flavors inspired by Aaron and Natasha. They would do a live taste test on air to see how I did! And, I’ve written up both recipes so that you can try them at home.

For Aaron’s cookie, I wanted a special cookie with some classic flavors. I used brown butter which add an almost toffee-hazelnutty flavor to the cookies. They also have some warm, cozy spices and a bit of honey. I hope you love them!

This recipe will make about 32 cookies, depending on the size of your cookie cutter.

The Aaron Rand Brown Butter Spice Cookie

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (see directions)

• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar

• 1/4 cup granulated sugar

• 1/4 cup honey

• 1 large egg yolk

• 2 tbsp heavy cream

• 1 tsp vanilla

• 2 3/4 cup all purpose flour

• 1/2 tsp cardamom

• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

• 1/4 tsp nutmeg (optional but nice)

• 1/2 tsp kosher salt

Directions:

1. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat until it starts to brown. The whole process will take about 3-5 minutes. The butter will melt, then it will get foamy and start to simmer. The butter will start to smell nutty and there will be light brown solids in the pan. Once this happens, transfer the butter to a large bowl (make sure it is heatproof) and let it cool until it solidifies.

2. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, spices and salt. Set aside.

3. Add the sugars to the bowl with the brown butter. Using a hand-held mixer or a whisk, beat until smooth and pale, about 3-5 minutes. Add the honey, egg yolk, vanilla and cream and whisk to incorporate. Scrape down the bowl as needed.

4. Turn the mixer to low, add half of the dry ingredients. Mix until just incorporated before adding the second half of the flour mixture. Be sure to not overmix!

5. Divide the dough in half and cover in plastic wrap. Form into disks and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, up to 2-3 days. You can also freeze the dough at this point, up to a month.

6. When you are ready to bake, preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

7. Roll out your cookie dough to 1/4 inch (about 1 cm) thickness. Cut out the cookies using your favorite cookie cutters. Dip the cutter in a bit of flour before using to prevent sticking. Line the cookies up on the baking sheet and stick the whole tray in the freezer for 15 minutes before baking. This step will ensure the cookies keep their shape and don’t spread too much in the oven. You can roll up the scraps of dough and re-roll to shape more cookies.

8. Bake the cookies for about 15-20 minutes, rotating the pan from front to bake and top to bottom if baking more than one tray at a time. If you like a softer cookie, bake for closer to 15 minutes. If you want a crisper cookie, bake closer to 18-20 minutes. The cookies will be lightly golden-brown when done.

9. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy!

The Aaron Rand Brown butter spice cookie!