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Brown Butter Chewy Maple Brown Sugar Cookies
2 sticks (1 cup) salted butter, at room temperature
1 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup apple butter
1 egg, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup semi0sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
Maple Glaze
4 tablespoons salted butter
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/2 – 3/4 cup powdered sugar
Flaky sea salt
Add 1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) butter to a small saucepan set over medium heat, cooking until the butter begins to brown, about 3-4 minutes.

Remove from the heat and transfer to a heatproof bowl.

Stick in the freezer to chill, 10-15 minutes, but no longer.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl, beat together the remaining 1/2 stick butter, the cooled browned butter, and the brown sugar until combined. Beat in the maple syrup, apple butter, egg, and vanilla, beating until
creamy. Add the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Fold in chocolate chips and pecans.

Roll the dough into rounded tablespoon size balls and place 3 inches apart on the prepared baking
sheet.

Transfer to the oven and bake for 8 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and tap the baking sheet on the counter 2 times to flatten them down.

Return to the oven and bake another 1-2 minutes or until the cookies are just beginning to set on the edges, but still doughy in the center. Remove from the oven and tap the baking sheet on the counter 1-2 times to flatten them down again. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet. They will continue to cook slightly as they sit on the baking sheet.

Meanwhile, make the glaze. Melt together the butter and maple syrup in a small pot over medium heat. Remove from the heat and whisk in the powdered sugar, and a pinch of salt.

Eat warm (highly recommended), or let cool and store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

Brad and I were going to see our grandson Owen and were taking supper to share with his parents, Sarah and Michael. For dessert I prepared Brown Butter Chewy Maple Brown Sugar Cookies (I’d found the recipe at halfbakedharvest.com). I love a soft, chewy cookie and this recipe sounded like it
would be the perfect end to our meal; and I could leave the rest of the cookies for Michael and Sarah to enjoy.

Mid-morning, I browned the butter and set it in the freezer to cool while I preheated the oven and lined two baking sheets with parchment paper. Browned butter is so tasty; it adds a nuttiness to dishes, which, along with the maple syrup, would make these cookies a hit I used my hand-held mixer to combine the softened butter, the browned butter and brown sugar.

Once combined I added the maple syrup, homemade apple butter, egg and vanilla and beat with the mixer until creamy. In a small bowl I combined the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt and then gradually added these dry ingredients to the wet ingredients until thoroughly mixed then folded in the chocolate chips and finely chopped pecans.

After rolling the dough into balls and placing them on the baking sheets the cookies went into the oven for 8 minutes, exactly 8 minutes. I removed the pans from the oven and tapped them on the counter 2 times and put them back in the oven for another 2 minutes. When I removed the cookies from the oven for the second time I tapped the pans again a couple of times and then let the cookies completely cool on the pans. Once cooled, I transferred the cookies to a cooling rack which sat on top of waxed paper, anticipating the glaze.

While the second batch of cookies baked I put the glaze together, which was done in a snap. I used 3/4 cup of powdered sugar for my glaze. I drizzled the glaze over the cooled cookies and then it was time to get the second batch out of the oven. When I was getting to the end of the dough there were no chocolate chips in it and that was fine with me since I don’t like chocolate and I really wanted to try these cookies.

I repeated the process of tapping on the counter and baking a couple more minutes and once the cookies were cooled I glazed them. I decided to leave a few of the cookies unglazed just to see what they tasted like, and I sprinkled a few of the glazed cookies with flaky black sea salt. We headed to Lexington and once we were finished eating supper we dove into the cookies.

The cookies weren’t that chewy and so I thought the cookies were ok, just not my favorite. I think they would have been better if the pecans hadn’t been finely chopped and had just been chopped. Brad thought the cookies with the glaze were too sweet. Sarah and Michael thought the combination of maple and chocolate was a bit off and said they thought they would have been better without the chocolate chips, and with bigger pieces of pecans in them.

While we were munching on the cookies Michael mentioned that his dad, Bob, really likes maple so I suggested they share with him and give me his thoughts. They did just that and Michael’s dad loved the cookies.

So now I had to decide was this recipe a Nailed It or a Failed It. I guess it’s really up to your taste buds. For my taste, they were a failed it because they just weren’t that great. Sarah and Michael said it was a toss-up, but Bob, Michael’s dad, said he thought it was a Nailed It. If you like the taste of maple and chocolate you might agree with Bob and these could be a winner for you. I however, won’t be saving this recipe for future use.