brown butter m&m cookies

Festive cookies anyone? 

I'm not sure if anyone missed me on Sunday, but our weekend wasn't anything to write home about, so I decided not to blog about it. The highlight was getting a new pair of running shoes. And making the best creamy cheesy parmesan pasta. My life really does revolve around two things. Anyway, these cookies.

I'll use any occasion as a reason to bake, but I really love when I can incorporate a theme into dessert. With Easter just around the corner, the grocery store is inundated with pastel candies. I have little resolve to resist holiday themed candy, so naturally I added it to a recipe.

These cookies use brown butter to create a nutty caramel flavor that pairs deliciously with the chocolate. Brown butter is a "trendy" way to use butter in the food world. You melt the butter in a saucepan until brown bits begin to form at the bottom of the pan. The line between browned and burned is very thin, so be careful to watch the butter closely. The aroma that brown butter produces is truly amazing. I've made cookies where the only star is the brown butter, no additional ingredients necessary.  Another great reason to brown your butter is to avoid having to wait until your butter comes to room temperature. Ugh, no patience for that. You should try browning your butter, really.

This is an easy, delicious and portable treat to bake up this Easter!

Brown Butter M&M Cookies

1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup M&M's

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly until brown bits form at bottom of saucepan, then remove from heat immediately
While allowing butter to cool, whisk together dry ingredients in medium bowl
In bowl of standing mixer, beat cooled butter and sugars together until well incorporated
Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and beat until just combined
Stir in M&M's
Drop dough by heaping tablespoon onto cookie sheet
Bake 8-9 minutes, or until cookies begin to turn golden
Let cookies cool on rack then store in airtight container

Adapted from A Kitchen Addiction