Brown Butter Sprinkle Cookies

I had this recipe ready to post last friday morning, but given what was going on in my hometown of Boston, it just didn't seem right to do so. As much as I love sharing recipes, there were a lot more important things going on just miles away from my own apartment. And to be honest, I would have had a hard time pulling myself away from the television even for just a little while that day. There are times when I complain about living in Boston, really just during the cold and snowy winter months. But the truth is that Boston is my home and I could not imagine living anywhere else. My heart brakes for all of the victims of the Marathon bombings. But I am also glad that the worst is behind us and our city can finally move on.

That being said, I am really excited to share these Brown Butter Sprinkle Cookies with you today. They are really fun cookies because they are full of color from both the mini M&M's and the sprinkles. I love sprinkles. Oh, and there is also brown butter in these cookies. I may have mentioned my love of brown butter once or twice in the past.  One additional note about these cookies- I found that the cookie dough was a lot more crumbly than what I am used to working with. Although I was unsure of how these cookies would bake in the oven, they ended up turning out just fine. 

Brown Butter Sprinkle Cookies

Recipe from The Sweet Life

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2  cup granulated sugar
1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups mini M&M's
1/2 cup rainbow sprinkles

In a large pan, melt butter over medium heat. Continue to cook butter until it becomes it bubbly and brown in color. Be careful not to burn the butter. Remove from the heat and allow to cool completely.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

 In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside. Using a stand mixer, beat together the butter and sugars until light and creamy, about 3-4 minutes.  Add the egg, followed by the egg yolk, beating until fully incorporated after each addition. Add the vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix until just combined. Turn off the mixer. Add the mini M&M's and sprinkles. Gently fold with a spatula until combined.

Scoop cookie dough onto prepared baking sheets. Bake for about 8-10 minutes or until the cookies are golden brown in color. Allow the cookies to cool completely on a wire cooling rack. 

Halloween Funfetti Cookie Sandwiches

Happy Monday! I have one more Halloween recipe to share with you before Wednesday rolls around. I absolutely love all things funfetti so this recipe was a no-brainer for me. Two soft funfetti cookies with a creamy buttercream frosting in the middle- what is not to love? The black and orange sprinkles, along with the orange tinted buttercream, makes it the perfect treat for Halloween. But this recipe can easily be adapted for all Holidays or special occasions. Just switch up the sprinkles and food coloring. 

As I sit here writing this post, we are waiting for Hurricane Sandy to hit Massachusetts. The rain started yesterday afternoon, but there hasn't been any wind or other signs of a Hurricane yet. School was cancelled and buildings are being evacuated, so everyone must be expecting the worse. I hope that everyone in the Northeast stays safe throughout the storm! If you are stuck inside for the next few days but still have power, you can always make some cookies! Enjoy!

Halloween Funfetti Cookie Sandwiches
Recipe from Two Peas and Their Pod (Cookie recipe originally adapted from Fat Girl Trapped in a Skinny Body)

Cookies:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
1 egg
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup black and orange sprinkles

Frosting:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract
2 tbsp heavy cream
Orange food coloring 

Cookies:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
In a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until smooth and creamy. Add the egg, vanilla and almond extract and continue to mix until fully incorporated.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch and salt. While the mixer is on low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture. Mix until combined.
Turn off the mixer and add the sprinkles. Mix with a spatula until combined.
Form cookie dough into small balls, about 1 tbsp in size, and drop onto the baking sheet. Bake for about 8-10 minutes or until golden brown on the edges. Allow cookies to cool completely on a cooling rack.

Frosting:
In a stand mixer, beat the butter until smooth and creamy. While the mixer is on low speed, slowly add the powdered sugar and mix until combined.
Add the salt, vanilla, almond extract and heavy cream. Beat for about 3 minutes or until smooth and creamy. 
Add the food coloring and mix until combined and desired color is reached.

Pipe small amounts of frosting onto each cookie one at a time and sandwich with another cookie.

Enjoy :)