Spelt + Sage + Brown Butter Cookies
Spelt + Sage + Brown Butter Cookies
Sage and brown butter are a tale as old as time. As golden cubes of butter melt down and sizzle in the pan, in go the light green sage leaves, releasing an alluring herbaceous aroma along with heady notes of browning butter. The sage crisps up and darkens as the butter turns into a dark amber hue. The crisped sage gets rubbed into the sugar mixture to further release its aromas. The addition of spelt enhances the nutty quality of the brown butter and adds a touch of dimension to the cookie. If desired a quick roll or dusting of sage rubbed sugar makes for a beautiful cookie.
These cookies are so simple yet have so much depth and nuance in each bite!
Spelt + Sage + Brown Butter Cookies
Serving: Makes 12 cookies
Ingredients:
Crispy Sage
6-8 sage leaves
2 tablespoons unsalted butter (28 grams)
Sage Sugar, for rolling
¼ cup white sugar (50 grams)
3-4 crispy sage leaves, from above
Spelt Sage Brown Butter Cookies
3/4 cup unsalted butter (170 grams ~ 1.5 sticks)
6-8 sage leaves
3/4 cup granulated sugar (150 grams)
1/2 cup light brown sugar (100 grams)
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1/4 cup spelt flour (30 grams)
1/2 cup bread flour (60 grams)
1 cup all purpose flour (120 grams)
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
Method:
Make the Crispy Sage
Heat a small saucepan to medium heat. Add the unsalted butter. Let it melt and begin to bubble slightly. Add the sage leaves in.
2 tablespoons unsalted butter (28 grams)
6-8 sage leaves
Reduce the heat to low and let the sage crisp up. They should turn dark in color and become stiff.
Once they are crisp, remove from the butter and place them on a plate lined with a paper towel. Discard any leftover butter in the pan.
¼ cup white sugar (50 grams)
1 tablespoons of freeze dried corn powder (~8 grams)
Make the Sage Sugar, for rolling
Add the white sugar into a bowl and crush a the crispy sage leaves from above into the sugar. Set aside.
¼ cup white sugar (50 grams)
3-4 crispy sage leaves, from above
Make the Sage Infused Brown Butter
Place the butter in a light colored pot over medium heat and let it melt down until liquid.
3/4 cup of unsalted butter (170 grams - 1.5 sticks)
Once the butter has liquified, add the sage cleaned sage leaves. Reduce the heat to low and let the sage crisp up. The sage leaves should turn dark in color and become stiff.
6-8 sage leaves
Once the sage is crips, fish them out of the butter mixture and set them on a plate lined with paper towel.
Continue to stir the mixture and scrape the bottom and sides. Keep a watch on the butter for the next 5 to 8 minutes as it starts to sputter, bubble and become warm golden brown. There will be a lot of foam so in order to check on the color of the butter, pull the pan off the stovetop for a moment to let the foam subside.
Once the whey of the butter has turned into a nice golden brown and releases a nutty aroma, turn the heat off and set the butter aside to cool.
Make the Spelt + Sage + Brown Butter Cookies
Add the crisped sage from the browned butter into the white sugar. Press the crispy sage into the sugar to release the oils and aroma of the sage into the sugar. Set aside.
Crispy Sage, from the sage infused brown butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar (150 grams)
Once the sage brown butter is cooled, pour it into a medium sized bowl along with light brown sugar and sage infused white sugar. Beat the mixture with an electric blender until everything is combined.
3/4 cup sage infused white sugar (150 grams)
1/2 cup light brown sugar (100 grams)
Add in the egg and egg yolk. Beat everything with the blender until smooth and combined.
1 egg
1 egg yolk, room temperature
In a separate bowl, whisk the spelt flour, bread flour, all purpose flour, bread flour, baking soda and salt.
1/4 cup spelt flour (30 grams)
1/2 cup bread flour (60 grams)
1 cup all purpose flour (120 grams)
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
Add in the dry flour mixture and fold in gently until no dry pockets remain.
Scoop the dough into 4 tablespoon balls. Roll each cookie in the sage sugar until fully coated.
Chill the cookie dough in the fridge overnight or a minimum of 8 hours. You should have about 12 cookie dough balls.
Once the cookie dough has chilled overnight, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking pan with parchment paper. Place 5 cookie dough balls on the tray, leaving 2 inches of space between each ball.
Bake the cookies for about 9 - 10 minutes or just until the edges are golden brown and set. Smack the pan against the counter to encourage rippling.
Scoot the cookies into position using a round ring and top each cookie with the remaining crispy sage. Crush the crisp sage slightly for that extra bit of flavor.
Cookies will last in an airtight container for about 3 days at room temperature. Enjoy!