Brown Butter M&M Cookies

M&M and Chocolate Chip cookies are my ultimate weakness. 

Sometimes I find that a Chocolate-with-Chocolate Cookie is a bit too much, so I prefer the complex flavors that go into a vanilla based cookie with some Chocolate in it...

Don't get me wrong, there is Definitely a time and place for an ALL Chocolate cookie, but I like the sweetness with the slight salty that comes from a Vanilla based cookie with chips or M&M's. 

Which reminds me... I should also try this recipe with other varieties of M&M's: 
Pretzel M&M's
Mint M&M's
Peanut M&M's may be a little too much for a cookie unless you chop them up into pieces first. 

Anyhoo....    

Saw this beautiful cookie being on Facebook and knew that I needed to try it out. 

Ashley from 'Baker By Nature" http://bakerbynature.com/ did a terrific post back in December about these cookies. She made them in traditional M&M colors and also in the Red and Green Xmas M&M's. The pictures on her site made my mouth water, so I decided to give them a try. Stop by and see her pictures for these cookies. Absolutely Gorgeous!  

This was the first time I Browned Butter for any recipe and was a bit intimidated and a bit nervous. I love the way it gave the cookie a little something extra and have since Browned Butter for another recipe... Thx Ashley!!! 

I made my cookies with the Spring-colored M&M's and I think they turned out great!

Enjoy! 

 The original blog post, with recipe, can be found here: http://bakerbynature.com/brown-butter-mm-cookies/

I have also conveniently copied it for you here straight from her blog: 

Brown Butter M&M Cookies

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon flaky sea salt
• 16 tablespoons (2 sticks; 8 ounces) salted butter, one stick melted until browned
• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 1/2 cups m&m's

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees (F).
2. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. In a medium sized bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, and sea salt; set aside.
3. Place 8 tablespoons of butter in a small sauce pan over medium-high heat and cook for about 2 minutes – stirring almost constantly – until the butter has browned. Remove from heat and stir in remaining butter; whisk until completely smooth. Place the bowl in the refrigerator or freezer and bring the butter back to room temperature. *You’ll know the butter is at room temperature when you press a finger into the top and it makes a slight indentation.
4. Once the butter is at room temperature…
5. Add the sugars and the vanilla to the browned butter and whisk until light and fluffy; about 2 minutes (you may use a standmixer/ handheld mixer to help if you have one). Add the eggs and beat quickly – for only about 30 seconds – until they’re just combined. Let the mixture rest for 5 minutes, then beat the eggs for another 30 seconds. Gently fold in the flour mixture with a wooden spoon, stirring only until the flour begins to disappear. Fold in m&m's.
6. Roll 3 tablespoon sized balls of dough between your palms to form a ball (they should be big; almost a 1/4 cup), then place on prepared sheet (make sure to leave enough room in between each cookie for inevitable spreading). Continue this process until all the dough has been rolled. Place baking sheets in preheated oven and bake for 11-13 minutes, or until golden at the edges but still soft in the middle. Press additional m&m's on top of the cookies right after removing the pan from the oven, if desired.
7. Let cookies cool for 5 minutes on the sheet before transferring to a wire wrack to cool completely.