Browned Butter Peanut Butter Cup Crunch Cookies with Sea Salt (ingredients, brown sugar)

[Paka]

These are BIG, chewy, gooey, GOOD cookies!! Below makes 16 HUGE cookies! Enjoy!!!

•2 and 1/2 cups all purpose flour
•2 and 1/2 tsp. baking powder
•1/2 tsp. sea salt (or kosher salt) + more for sprinkling
•1 cup (or 16 tbsp. or 2 sticks) unsalted butter, browned
•2 tbsp. peanut butter
•1 and 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
•1 and 1/2 cups brown sugar, packed
•1/2 cup granulated sugar
•2 eggs, room temperature
•3/4-1 cup chopped peanut butter cups (approx. 14-20 mini's)
•3/4-1 cup crushed Butterfingers

Preparation:
•Line 2 large cookie sheets (or just 1 that you'll re-use in 2 batches) with parchment paper or silicone baking mat(s). Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
•In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and 1/2 tsp. salt.
•To brown the butter: In a (preferably light colored) saucepan, melt butter over medium heat, whisking as it melts, foams, bubbles, and eventually little brown bits form and it turns amber. Immediately pour into a large, heatproof, bowl, and use a spatula to scrape all the little brown bits into the bowl.
•Using a stand or hand mixer, beat the peanut butter, vanilla, and sugars into the butter for a couple minutes, until it lightens a bit and gets sort of fluffy (it will be a very greasy looking mixture).
•Beat in eggs for about 30 seconds.
•Add the dry ingredients in thirds, mixing after each addition until just combined.
•Stir in the chopped peanut butter cups and crushed Butterfingers until evenly distributed throughout the dough.
•Using a large (1/4 cup) cookie scoop, measure out large balls of cookie dough and place them on the baking sheet(s), leaving plenty of room in between (I was able to fit 8 cookies on my very large cookie sheet). Sprinkle with sea (or kosher) salt.
•Bake 13 minutes (ovens vary, however, so the time may as well), until golden around the edges (if baking 2 sheets at once, be sure to rotate the pans for even baking). Remove and allow to cool on the sheet for 5 minutes. Then, transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
•Serve warm! Store leftover cookies in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

[momtothree]

Will try these next time we bake. We make browned chocolate chip cookies. Just take your favorite chocolate chip recipe and brown one of the sticks of butter. (cream the other stick like normal with the sugar/eggs) You then add the browned butter right before the addition of the chocolate chips.

[Paka]

Ohhhhh, thanks Momtothree! Will have to give that a try! I use to NEVER brown butter, and then found out how easy it is (and how much it make a difference in the taste) and now love those recipes!

[Gandalara]

Question:

To brown the butter: In a (preferably light colored) saucepan

Why?

[momtothree]

Originally Posted by Gandalara

Question:
Why?

I'm not the OP but its so you can see how brown it gets probably. It burns very quickly once it's properly browned and its hard to see in a dark pan. I actually go by the bubbling effect. When it stops popping/bubbling, pull of the heat.

[Paka]

What she said!!!! The taste difference is very difficult to explain, but very obvious once you have tried it!

[Gandalara]

Ahso. Thought that was it, but thought maybe I was missing something.

I brown in my cast iron, but that's just me

[Sherwoody]

I've noticed some white ceramic cooking pans popping up in stores. Probably would work good for butter and making a caramel sauce also.