Brown Edge Butter Cookies

Brown edge butter cookies

The Spruce

Prep: 20 mins
Cook: 10 mins
Total: 30 mins
Servings: 20 servings
Yield: 20 cookies

Never mind the pale vanilla cookies that you know and love. Brown edge cookies are here to stay. A crunchy and buttery edge adds another dimension to an already delicious treat. By simply allowing the cookies to stay in the hot oven until you see the edges changing color, they become especially tasty—and perhaps your new favorites. A simple creamy batter of butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and flour hits on the perfect sweet-savory balance with the addition of a pinch of salt. Once you pop them in the oven it only takes 10 minutes of baking time. If you can wait a little longer before devouring one or two (or more!), allow a few minutes for the cookies to cool off while you pour yourself a cold glass of milk or scoop some ice cream into a bowl. These cookies are great on their own, but also beautifully complement other desserts. This recipe makes approximately 20 cookies, but doubling the ingredient amounts is easy. The more the merrier. To keep these butter cookies crispy, store them in an airtight container.

Use these cookies as the base for other desserts, as their sweet but mild flavor makes them excellent vehicles for other ingredients. Make sandwich cookies using chocolate spread, marshmallow fluff, or dulce de leche and use powdered sugar on top for a pretty finish. These cookies are great for building dessert parfaits. Simply make the flavored instant pudding or your choice, layer cookies and pudding, top with whipped cream, and decorate with chocolate chips and maraschino cherries. Put these cookies to good use in a quick version of a tiramisú. Place a layer of cookies in each dessert glass and pour hot unsweetened espresso on top. Add a layer of vanilla custard, dust with a layer of sweetened cocoa powder, and repeat the layers as needed until you've built a tiramisú tall enough to satisfy your coffee-and-chocolate cravings.

Perfect for a mid-morning snack to go with your coffee, these are great cookies for lunch boxes as well, and they double as the perfect sugary confection for a much-needed afternoon pick-me-up. Make these crispy cookies part of a build-your-own-sundae party. Serve with bold cheeses like Bleu, Gorgonzola, Camembert, or Stilton, as the sweet profile makes the perfect pairing for these types of strong ingredients. Top each cookie with a piece of cheese and add a zesty chutney to create the perfect match. Who said vanilla cookies aren't versatile? Our brown edge butter cookies certainly are.

Ingredients

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients and preheat oven to 350 F.

    Ingredients for brown edge butter cookies
    Brown edge butter cookies ingredients. The Spruce
  2. Grease cookie sheet pans or line them with parchment paper and set aside.

    Grease cookie sheet
    Grease cookie sheet for brown edge butter cookies. The Spruce
  3. In a medium bowl with an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar.

    Cream together butter and sugar
    Blend butter and sugar with electric mixer. The Spruce
  4. Add vanilla and egg and beat until light.

    Add vanilla and eggs
    Add vanilla and eggs to mixture. The Spruce
  5. Add the flour and salt and mix well.

    Add flour and salt
    Add flour and salt to mixture. The Spruce 
  6. Drop by half-teaspoonfuls onto prepared pans.

    Drop onto sheet
    Add by half-teaspoonfuls to prepared pan. The Spruce
  7. Bake for about 10 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.

    Bake cookies
    Baked brown edge butter cookies. The Spruce
  8. Serve and enjoy.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
74 Calories
5g Fat
7g Carbs
1g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 20
Amount per serving
Calories 74
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 5g 6%
Saturated Fat 3g 15%
Cholesterol 22mg 7%
Sodium 53mg 2%
Total Carbohydrate 7g 3%
Dietary Fiber 0g 0%
Total Sugars 3g
Protein 1g
Vitamin C 0mg 0%
Calcium 4mg 0%
Iron 0mg 1%
Potassium 10mg 0%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)