Brown Butter Snickerdoodles

Firstly, I must say, I am not a cookie person. It's cake and pastries for me all the way. And if I ever took a moment to pretend I was a cookie person, I would make applesauce chocolate chip cookies long before I would ever even consider making Snickerdoodles.  But this recipe intrigued me (as does anything with brown butter), so I tried them. And now, embarrassingly, I can't stop eating them. They are amazing. They have a surprisingly gooey, yummy center (if you don't over-bake them), thanks to the browned butter in them. It made about two dozen cookies, and probably would have been a whole lot more, but the dough tasted so incredible that I ate way too much of it. Okay. Enough blabbing. Go make these. Now. 

Brown Butter Snickerdoodle Cookies

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon of salt
• 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter
• 1¼ cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
• 1 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon plain greek yogurt
• For rolling mixture:
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon

Instructions

1. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, and salt in a bowl and set aside. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. The butter will begin to foam. Make sure you whisk consistently during this process. After a couple of minutes, the butter will begin to brown on the bottom of the saucepan; continue to whisk and remove from heat as soon as the butter begins to brown and give off a nutty aroma. Immediately transfer the butter to a bowl to prevent burning. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.
2. With an electric mixer, mix the butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. Beat in the egg, yolk, vanilla, and yogurt until combined. Add the dry ingredients slowly and beat on low-speed just until combined.
3. Chill your dough for 3 hours or as long as possible in the refrigerator (important!), or place in freezer for 30 minutes if you are super eager, although I cannot promise the same results if you do this. Fridge is always best! You want the dough VERY cold. If you desire a 'puffy' cookie, place them in the fridge overnight.
4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Once dough is chilled measure about 2 tablespoons of dough and roll into a ball. Meanwhile mix 1/4 cup sugar and the 2 teaspoons cinnamon in a bowl. Roll balls in cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place dough balls on cookie sheet, 2 inches apart.
5. Bake the cookies 8-11 minutes or until the edges of the cookies begin to turn golden brown. They will look a bit underdone in the middle, but will continue to cook once out of the oven. Bake longer if you like crispier cookies. Cool the cookies on the sheets at least 2 minutes. Remove the cooled cookies from the baking sheets after a few minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough.

Honey Salmon in Foil

You know you've found a winning recipe when dad compliments the flavor. Yes, dad. While he was here in Boston for his 24 hours stay this week, I quickly made this before we headed off to a game at Fenway.  I happened to be out of honey (forgot to stock up on Cox's last time I was home), so I used maple syrup instead. Just as delicious!  

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup honey
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar (I've also used apple cider vinegar) 
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 pounds salmon 

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil.
• In a small bowl, whisk together honey, garlic, olive oil, white wine vinegar, thyme, salt and pepper, to taste.
• Place salmon onto prepared baking sheet and fold up all 4 sides of the foil. Spoon the honey mixture over the salmon. Fold the sides of the foil over the salmon, covering completely and sealing the packet closed.
• Place into oven and bake until cooked through, about 15-20 minutes.*
• Serve immediately.

Notes

*Baking time may need to be adjusted depending on the thickness of the salmon.