Chill the browned butter: We want to release the butter until it’s solid throughout, let’s not trust, heat the butter in a container for 30 minutes and remove the sides, mixing with the melted parts in the center of solid chunks. Return to the fridge for another 15 to 30 minutes – it should now be firm throughout. Cut into chunks, right in the bowl. There is no need to make them.
To make cookies in a food processor: Place the flour, 1 1/4 cups (250 grams) of sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in the work bowl of your food processor and mix together. Add your dark brown chunks and cream cheese and beat and mix until all the visible pieces disappear and the mixture looks like breadcrumbs. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until the mixture is completely combined, kicking down as the walls are needed) and continue to use the machine almost full, until smooth.
Making with an Electric Mixer: Place the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and whisk to combine. In a large bowl or bowl of a standing mixer, beat the cheese, dark brown butter, and 1 1/4 cups (250 grams) of sugar until sugar until sugar until sugar. Add the egg and vanilla and mix again, scraping the bottom of the bowl as needed. Add the flour mixture and beat just until the flour disappears. In some cases, the dough made this way will feel too soft to fit into balls in your hands; If so, let it set in the fridge for 20 minutes or so before using.
To heat in the oven: Up to 375°F (190°C)
Disable cookies: Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. In a small bowl, combine the remaining 3 tablespoons (40 grams) of brown sugar and all the cinnamon. Scoop Cookie Dough into 1.5-tise sized balls (I use a #40 Scoop), roll briefly in your hands to flatten them, then roll them onto a sheet of cinnamon sugar before placing on the prepared baking sheet. Use your fingers to lightly flatten (photo: 1/3 of the way) each ball of dough. Repeat with remaining cookies, spacing two inches apart.
Bake the cookies: 10 to 11 minutes. They’ll still feel very soft and put on top but they’ll set just as cool, they promise. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, then transfer the cookies to a rack to finish cooling.
Do it ahead: These cookies keep for one week in an airtight container at room temperature.
Notes:
- Basic butter: I call the basic, non-European butter, Butterfat here – you know, the kind that comes in a 1 box of four” in most American grocery stores; Store Brands are fine. [If you’d like to use a fancier, higher butterfat butter, you’ll want to add back less water after browning the butter.]
- Why Water: When you swirl the butter, the water content of the butter is cooked (that’s what causes all that oozing in the pan) and we want to put it back to make sure that the cookies have the perfect impression of tender. I used to measure water loss by volume and recommend just adding 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons of water back per 1 cup of butter. But recently I started weighing my brown butter instead and was surprised to read that it started at 257 grams after browning (which means you would want to add 2 tablespoons of water and 2 tablespoons of water back. However, I found that these cookies have the best texture by rounding this to 3 full (45 grams) of water, which you did this time. Was that super nerdy? Yes. But I know someone was going to ask!