brown butter & cinnamon shortbread
Shortbread needs little introduction – the pure butter cookies are rich and pair well with coffee or tea. In this instance, I turned the volume up (as Ina Garten would say) with brown butter and cinnamon shortbread. Brown your butter first, and you’ll find yourself with the most indulgent, buttery shortbread you’ve ever tasted. The best way to describe these cookies is completely addicting; I think you’ll love the nutty notes of caramel and toffee as much as I do.
I decked out my shortbread with dark chocolate stripes and silver glitter crystals for a festive look; I can never say no to a little sparkle in December!
Brown Butter & Cinnamon Shortbread
1 cup unsalted butter
2 cups flour
2/3 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 oz dark chocolate, chopped
Silver glitter crystals
Cook butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly until it foams, turns clear, and then turns a deep brown, about 6 minutes. Pour browned butter into a glass bowl or measuring cup and chill in the freezer until solid, about an hour.
Preheat oven to 300°F and line a 13 x 9-inch baking dish with parchment paper. Whisk together flour, powdered sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl. Beat solidified brown butter with a mixer on medium-high speed until smooth. Beat in vanilla, then reduce speed to low and gradually add flour mixture; mix just to combine (dough will be crumbly).
Scrape dough into prepared baking dish; use a piece of parchment to press dough into an even layer. Chill pan in the freezer for 10 minutes. Bake for 35 to 36 minutes, until firm and golden. Immediately score (make shallow cuts in dough) into 30 rectangles. Cool completely in dish on a rack, then carefully lift shortbread out of dish and place on a cutting board; slice with a sharp knife.
Place chocolate in a double boiler or in a heat-proof bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water. Slowly melt the chocolate, stirring occasionally until glossy and smooth. Remove from heat and pour into a pastry bag or squeeze bottle; pipe chocolate onto shortbread and top with sprinkles. Let set before serving. Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.
Yield – 30 cookies (serving size: 1 cookie)
Calories – 105
Carbs – 10
44 comments
Shortbread made with brown butter?! Yes, please! They look incredibly dangerous…:D
Beautiful and the flavors..I can only imagine…your shortbread is perfect for the holidays;-)
Somehow, even though I love the taste of ordinary shortbread, it just doesn’t wow me. Yours, on the other hand, is so beautiful and festive! Love that you made these with brown butter…yum!!!!
“I decked out my shortbread with dark chocolate stripes and silver glitter crystals for a festive look” – Laura, only you could come up with such a brilliant and gorgeous way to deck out your cookies! These look and sound absolutely scrumptious!!
Glitter crystals? That is awesome – I need to get some of those!
All decked out and ready to go shortbread! Yay! Very festive indeed. And you know I can’t resist brown butter. Let me tell yah, if I had this in front of me now, I think I can polish them off in, oh, about 2 seconds!
Brown butter makes everything amazing ♥
Laura….I absolutely ADORE shortbread! This must be fabulous with that nutty brown butter! And there can never be enough sparkle in December!
I’m a huge fan of browned butter AND cinnamon! They’e a perfect treat for me!
you can never go wrong with sparkle. I love shortbread and loved that you turned the volume up and used brown butter, mmm
You had me at brown butter!
Now I’ve never made shortbread before but that needs to change immediately with this amazingness here!
Mmm a decadent twist of brown butter to shortbread. Really a lovely idea. I love shortbread cookies along with my tea.
These short bread cookies look great with that little glittery sugar on top, and I’m sure they are tasty with the cinnamon too.
Gurrrrl, that’s the sexiest shortbread cookie I have eva seen!!
I love the buttery simplicity of shortbread and I am sure the addition of cinnamon would make it so much more special!
I love shortbread but I’ve never seen them that look this interesting!
You are so cute! BUT I agree, flash, flare, and loads fun in December is required:-) Your bars sound oh my goodness wonderful! Yum, Hugs, Terra
As a certified (ok not really certified) browned butter nut, I really want to make this because I can imagine how gorgeous the browned butter is in the recipe! 😀
A simple recipe with a twist and such pretty decorating.
These look wonderful, Laura!
I love this sparkly version of shortbread. It happens to be a favorite sweet treat of mine. Love yours, Laura:)
Yes, you certainly did take your shortbread to new heights! Since I love them even plain, I know that I’d love these with cinnamon even more! Buon Natale!
Ciao,
Roz
I love everything about these! Shortbread is always a winner.
Amazing flavors and such a unique look–great for cookie exchange!
I think brown butter shortbread is simply the best. Adding cinnamon and chocolate is a terrific idea Laura!
Dang, these look awesome! I’m gonna need to be making these in the next week or two! 🙂
I made some shortbread just yesterday and you are right – needs no introduction! I love the buttery flavor of shortbread, I can’t imagine how amazing it is with brown butter!!
Around shortbreads I act like a dog after bacon. lol:) These look divine Laura and they are going on my list of recipes to try. Can’t wait!
Brown butter and cinnamon–there isn’t a more delightful combination than this!
I can see why these are completely addicting. These look amazing! I love how your decked these out with a little sparkle. So pretty! 🙂
Oh Laura, these shortbreads sound so divine and so perfect for Christmas. I bet they filled your kitchen with the most amazing aromas when they were being baked.
My mouth is watering! I adore shortbread and with brown butter, now you have put it over the top. Delish!!!!!
An exquisite treat! Brown buter adds so much flavor to food and cinnamon is one of my favorite spices…
Cheers,
Rosa
Ok, don’t judge me, but I’ve never actually made shortbread… sad, isn’t it? I think I’ll have to grab your recipe and go to give it a try! 🙂
They look so pretty! I love anything cinnamon.
The moment I laid eyes in these little short read cookies I knew I had to bookmark them. I have to make them! I love brown butter anything and adore shortbread. These are perfection!
brown butter is enough tempting for me and then you added cinnamon! This is a full packed treat 🙂
Among all the cookies, I have to say buttery shortbread has to be one of my favorite kinds of cookies. So your description just made me drool. I feel like I’d be very busy baking your recipes once I start baking more. 🙂 So many delicious recipes. Only problem is that my weight hasn’t decreased even a bit yet. >_< heeee!
Shortbread of any type is my favorite…love the light, delicate texture! These are beautiful, Laura!
Brown butter and the cinnamon – these sound perfect for this time of year!
Even if I am not a big lover of butter, I enjoy shortbread very much. And I love the flavors that you combined here!
I’m hugely obsessed with brown butter (among other things), and I bet these are absolutely delicious!
Buttery shortbread with cinnamon? Oh yes please 🙂 These are wonderful Laura!
I have a serious weakness for homemade shortbread and brown butter. These look incredible!