Brown Butter Double-Chip Pumpkin Cookies with Cranberries & Sea Salt

Guys. GUYS. These cookies. These cookies… are indescribable. I consider myself something of a cookie connoisseur. I’ve traveled around the world. I’ve tried every variety of cookie. Chocolate chip. Oatmeal. Macaron. Macaroon. Cookies from bakeries in Paris, and cookies from gas stations. So, it’s not surprising that I’d have pretty high standards. But, inexplicably, every time I put a bite of these Brown Butter Double-Chip Pumpkin Cookies into my mouth, my mind. blanks. And I just think:

Swear to the Cookie gods. They’re unlike anything I’ve ever had before. They’re extra dense, and the mix-ins compliment the warm-spiced dough perfectly. The creamy white chocolate cuts the richness and makes them doubly sweet and luxurious.

And they come with the delicious flavor of pride, because, with the launching of this blog, I’m creating my own recipes for the first time!!! Yay, round of applause. But coming up with recipes all on my own is something completely new to me, and it seemed extremely challenging.

designing these cookies

I’ve always just been one to Google whatever I was craving and follow the steps that sounded best, or dig through my mom’s recipe archives to find something good. The thought of playing with ratios, throwing in various ingredients, and calculating measurements seemed insane to my amateur-baker mind. These cookies were my first-ever attempt at coming up with an original, and I was nervous. But boy, was I borrowing trouble.

The nutty browned butter and Madagascar vanilla melds with the subtle pumpkin/cinnamon flavor in an ethereal way. Dark brown sugar serves to only heighten this warm combination, and these cookies literally just taste like a warm hug by the fire. And once you get that sweet pop of white chocolate, or a tart cranberry, just forget about it. I’m truly so proud of myself for getting these right, let alone on the first try. Humble brag.

The flavors play with each other in mega-complex ways, and special cookie-baking techniques (see the aptly titled section below) ensure that these are rich, gooey, and fall-apart moist, even the next day. I actually sit here munching on one now, in hopes of accurately describing the depth of flavor, but I’m at a loss. They’re caramel-y, crunchy, chocolatey little pillows of pumpkin perfection. You’re just going to have to make these, and tell me what you think.

inspiration

As crazy as it sounds, I think my inspiration from this recipe actually came from COVID, in a weird, roundabout way. As a senior in high school, I’ve missed out on a lot of life since the pandemic hit. And furthermore, I’m a member of an immunocompromised family, so I can’t expect too much normality right now. I’ve missed my final football games, homecoming, and prom. Trips to New York, Hawaii, and music festivals have been cancelled. (However, as disheartening as this all is, it has not made me disregard the pandemic. WEAR YOUR MASKS!)

Having missed so much of normal life, as the holiday seasons approach, I’ve noticed myself really clinging to them. I’m spending all my time thinking of ideas to make the tail-end of 2020 as holiday-tastic as possible. Extensive Pinterest boards dedicated to fall and winter. Planning crazy labor-intensive recipes to whip up at Thanksgiving. Making my Christmas list in October. Cable knit sweaters. Pumpkin chai lattes. Apple picking, cider donuts, Lifetime movies. The whole shabang. For whatever reason, it’s some sort of escapism, make-up-for-lost-time type thing. But I’m certainly not complaining.

And it totally worked. These cookies made all my manic fall dreams come true. Each bite is pure bliss; they’re cakey and deluxe-feeling, but crispy and moist and gooey as well. They should really be called paradox cookies. But you don’t have to take it from me. In the true spirit of autumn, I took a drive along the tree-lined Northeast Ohio backroads to deliver some of these Brown Butter Double-Chip Pumpkin Cookies to my friends. Here’s what they had to say:

stunning reviews

“Ridiculously good.”

★★★★★

“Amazing. What’s the recipe?”

★★★★★

“Sumptuous. Moist but cakey. Crunchy in good places.”

★★★★★

So really, I cannot stress the deliciousness of these enough. But now that I’ve at least tried, it’s time for the method behind it.

ingredients & technique

A lot of thought went into giving this dessert the perfect texture and crumb. Allow me to explain:

• Brown Butter: No explanation needed. The king of fall flavors. However, it’s essential that you mix the pumpkin directly into it fresh off the stove. The butter permeates the earthy taste of the pumpkin and creates a comforting, home-y vibe. And make sure it’s browned enough! I personally like mine on the edge of burnt. It should be a dark amber color, for the best results.

• Pumpkin: The pumpkin flavor in these is subtle, but it works. Any more, and it might be overwhelming. Though, if you’re looking for a mainly pumpkin-based cookie, increase the amount by 1/2 cup and add extra flour. The brown butter is definitely the star here.

• Dark Brown Sugar: Look. Light brown sugar will work here. The cookies will bake, and be pretty good. But you will be missing out on the incredible culinary wonder that is melted dark brown sugar. The increased molasses content makes it superior to the light stuff, and it + the brown butter is responsible to the addictive caramelized property of these cookies.

• Spices: These cookies include cinnamon & pumpkin pie spice. I’ve noticed that often times, when cinnamon is added to desserts, they become more breakfast-y than, like, the rich after-dinner vibe that’s expected from a dessert. It doesn’t make sense, but it’s true. So, I used a light hand on these, and it paid off. You definitely still need to add it, though, because it pairs incredibly with the brown sugar and pumpkin.
• Eggs: The eggs are the key to this recipe. Once combined with the rest of the dough, you whisk them for an extra 30 seconds, with the end goal of whipping air into the batter. Let rest for 2 minutes, then whip again at a ferocious speed. This repeats twice more, and it’s what lets the cookies be gooey in the middle, crinkly on top, and golden on the edges. Trust me, the difference is crazy; it gets so much fluffier and lighter. See for yourself!

• Mix-ins: For these Brown Butter Double-Chip Pumpkin Cookies with Cranberries & Sea Salt, I chose the contents according to what I thought would be most delectable with brown butter and pumpkin. Feel free to mix it up to your tastes, but nothing is better than the mingling of the two chocolates and the crunchy walnuts.
• Bake: The bake on these is something I thought long and hard about, based on my limited knowledge of cookie science. I didn’t use a guide, so it’s not exact, but some things I did were: mix browned butter with pumpkin so the flavors infuse. Use both brown & white sugar, for caramelization and crispiness respectively. Whip the eggs for a crinkly top and gooey center. Use less flour for a looser dough. Bake for less time than needed, then leave on the hot baking tray once out of the oven to finish. Just simple things that make them much more elite than your average Toll House.

Now that we’ve covered the art of cookie science and broken down the ingredients, we’ll talk process.

process for brown butter double-chip pumpkin cookies

And that’s all there is to these Brown Butter Double-Chip Pumpkin Cookies with Cranberries & Sea Salt. These are ambitious, deluxe, and totally deliver on flavor. They aren’t just any old cookie; they are truly a cut (or crumb?) above.

Here’s the recipe you’ve all been waiting for.

recipe

So, there’s how to make out-of-this-world Brown Butter Double-Chip Pumpkin Cookies. If you make them, you have to tell me what you think, because I find them truly life-changing. They’ve taken the spot of the cookie recipe I had been planning to make for a distanced, outdoor Halloween party this Saturday, and I can’t tell if it’s because I really want to bring them or if I just want to eat them again. But either way, it’s happening.

Thank you so much for reading! Please leave a comment with any questions, or a review if you try these!

I seriously hope you love these,