Browned Butter Snickerdoodles
Browned butter is one of those magical ingredients. It’s like liquid gold. It just makes everything better. I have yet to meet a recipe using browned butter that I don’t like.
If you haven’t ever browned butter, it’s quite simple, although it does take some patience. Just melt the butter on low. Once the butter starts to foam, I start whisking. From here things can be tricky, although I’ve never had any issues. My secret? Using my nose. I stir the butter constantly until it smells nutty and almost caramely. That’s it.
I only have dark bottomed pans, so I can’t follow the instructions about when you see flecks vs when you don’t. But my nose has yet to fail me. Believe me, you’ll know when it’s ready. Once cooled to room temperature, browned butter can be used in just about anything.
Since my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe has browned butter in it, I was not at all surprised that I loved these snickerdoodles. Don’t get me wrong, I like regular snickerdoodles enough (in cookie or bar format), but with browned butter, they were downright addictive!
One Year Ago: Roasted Blueberry Cupcakes and Two-Berry Coconut Macaroons
Two Years Ago: Hummingbird Cupcakes with Pineapple Flowers
Three Years Ago: Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting and Meal Idea for New Parents (or Anyone else you want to take a meal to)
Four Years Ago: Roasted Red Pepper Dip and Samoas Bars
Browned Butter Snickerdoodles
Yield: 3 dozen cookies
Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 3/4 cups flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
5 tsp cinnamon, divided
1/2 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1 Tbsp whole milk
1 cup plus 3 Tbsp granulated sugar, divided
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
Directions:
Add the butter to a medium skillet set over medium heat and let it start melting. Continue cooking, swirling the pan occasionally, until the butter becomes golden brown and smells nutty (be patient and watch carefully, it can go from brown to burnt quickly). Pour the butter into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low speed for 5-7 minutes to cool the butter to room temperature (or alternatively, you could just let it sit until it cools down - it'll just take longer).
Meanwhile, whisk the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, 1 teaspoon of the cinnamon and the salt together in a medium bowl. Whisk the eggs and milk in a medium measuring cup until combined.
When the butter has cooled, add 1 cup of the granulated sugar and the brown sugar to the bowl. Beat on medium speed for 2-3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. With the mixer on low, slowly add the egg mixture beating until well combined. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients in 3 additions, beating just until the dough comes together. Cover the bowl and chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour or up to 24 (I chilled mine for close to 24).
When you're ready to bake, preheat oven to 400 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Add the remaining 3 tablespoons of sugar and the remaining 4 teaspoons of cinnamon to a wide, shallow bowl and stir to combine.
Using a small cookie scoop (about 2 tablespoons), portion the dough into balls. Roll the balls in the cinnamon-sugar mixture then transfer to the prepared baking sheets spacing the cookies about 1 1/2-2 inches apart. Bake for about 10 minutes (rotating the pans halfway through) until the tops of the cookies are cracked and the edges are just set (just a minute or two of extra baking will take these from chewy to more crisp so keep an eye on them). Transfer the pans to wire racks and cool the cookies for a few minutes then remove to the racks to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
Recipe seen on Tracey's Culinary Adventures, originally from Baked Elements
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
I love that these are made with vanilla cake instead of chocolate. I need to try these soon!
Oooh. They look awesome. I’d so be using Double Stuf oreos for this! The more cream the better.
These look amazing! I have an unhealthy addiction to Oreos, so I will be making these soon!
Hope you have so much fun at cupcake camp! I wish I could make it. And nice work developing this recipe into your own perfect creation. I love doing that sometimes – such a personal satisfaction! They sound amazing – I officially put in my request, you must bring these to a gtg sometime 🙂
These do look amazing! What wonderful pictures too! I wish I could come to the cupcake camp — being gluten free it would be total torture! Good luck, I hope it goes well =)
There’s a small part of me that needs to stop reading this blog, because every time you post there is another recipe that I add to the to-bake list! 🙂 I love that you used the colored cupcake liners here; they’re a fabulous accent to the black-and-white coloring of the cupcakes. A perfect pop of color for spring! Thanks for another great recipe.
Wow these look amazing! I love the oreo on the bottom. I did that with oreo cheesecakes but never thought about doing that with oreo cupcakes! cant wait to try!
OMG these look amazing
Where do you get your liners from? I love how vibrant the colors are, even after baking.
Jaime – I get the liners from confectionery House. I also get my brown liners from them as well. They are a bit expensive but well worth it.
I am not a big oreo fan but these do look tasty! I might just have to tr them at our next big family function! Thanks for sharing!
YUM!!!!!!!!! They look delicous! I have some leftover Oreos from my Elmo cupcakes…I might have to whip some of these up, too! Great post darling!
Yum! I am a fan of the big chunks of oreo too, I will be making these soon!
I bet they’d be really pretty if you used the spring Oreos on the bottom, with the different colors!
I’ve made Oreo cupcakes with Hershey’s chocolate cake recipe and white buttercream with crushed Oreos in it. They were fabulous that way, but i still want to try out your method. Maybe I could make a hybrid of what I did with your recipe. Your cupcakes look absolutely perfect. I love how luscious the frosting is and the bottom part of the cupcake.
A 3rd type!?
I’ve tried to make your other two and LOVED them and this one seems to be the hybrid version so I may try to make this with some strawberry oreos I picked up on sale the other day.
Thanks so much!
http://www.brisbanebaker.blogspot.com
These look absolutely amazing! I
These look so good!
These look SOOOO good!! I will look for tonight at Cupcake Camp!
Wow! Suddenly I’m very hungry 🙂
These look absolutely incredible. I’m sorry I’m going to miss today’s cupcake event… hopefully there will be another one in the future. 🙂
What a great idea and they do look awesome, especially the chot open one. I’ve seen Oreos in cookies and brownies, but not in cupcakes. Love it!
I have been following your blog for a few months now and I love it!!
I made these awesome cuppies for my husband’s birthday yesterday and they were a massive hit. Will definitely be making them again.
Thank you for another great recipe.
Erin 🙂
I made these last night and they turned out just perfect! This is definitely a keeper.
I do have one question…I was having a difficult time blending the butter and milk/vanilla. For some reason, they remained separate no matter how long I blended. I ended up straining the butter, then blending the sugar and butter and gradually adding the milk. Did I miss a step or should I have kept on mixing until the desired consistency? Thanks!
I think I’m trying the cookie dough cupcakes next. Can’t wait!
These are amazing and are on my list to make, really soon. You are very clever to put this all together and to end up with a delicious and attractive cupcake.
Hi Jen, I was at Cupcake Camp and was so excited to snag one of these babies! I actually was standing right near you while you were setting these up and thought “WOW that must be Beantown Baker!” And then suddenly I was very shy and feeling like I was in the presence of a celebrity and I of course chickened out and didn’t say hello. And then of course it got crazy crowded and I didn’t get a second chance to introduce myself. I’m kicking myself now! Anyway I want you to know that it was a thrill to try one of your cupcakes after who knows how long of following your blog, and they were SO GOOD. Dense and delicious – definitely one of the best cupcakes we tried, including the ones from the bakeries.
I was recently checking out my ‘abandoned’ food blog, Rubber Pants, and I came across a comment from you, so obviously wanted to check out your blog..again! Love these cupcakes! I really like how you use vanilla cake instead of chocolate. Delicious!
Momma Bean – Yes, the butter and milk don’t really mix together that well. I will have to rewrite the instructions to reflect that. When I made them, I just beat the butter until light and fluffy, then add milk and vanilla. Sorry for the confusion.
Suzi – you def should have introduced yourself! I love meeting people who read my blog. Glad you enjoyed the cupcakes!
Hi! I saved the little tag on the oreo cupcakes at Cupcake Camp so that could remember to visit the blog. I’ve been making oreo cake/cupcakes for years- I found the recipe in a Pillsbury cookbook which calls for using the white cake mix and dump about a cup crushed oreos into the mix. I usually use a buttercream frosting. It’s a simple recipe that has always been a hit, so I was a bit skeptical about trying yours. After I tried your version, I was definitely impressed. I would have never thought to put half an oreo on the bottom- genius! I will have to make your recipe some day because making the cake from scratch certainly improves upon an already great flavor, as well as the oreo bottom. It goes to show “there’s more than one way to skin a cat.”
rachellehcar – glad you were able to find my blog. Sounds like the little tags were helpful. I have tried a similar recipe that uses white cake mix, but I def agree that making it from scratch is the way to go!
hi, i use the same resipe only i found it from crazy about cupcakes book and when i make the batter, i dont follow the recipe as beating butter and milk is very annoying because they wont mix well.
so i just cream the butter and sugar together, add white eggs and vanilla then flour alternating with milk then the crushed oreo.. always works amazing for me 🙂
Hi Jen, I have never made my own batter before and I decided to try this wonderful recipe of yours as my first.. Im having some problems with it though, it comes out like dough and I cant do anything with it after that. I believe my problem is with the creaming of the butter which I am completely unfamiliar with. I gooled it and it said you cream butter by using sugar, is this true? Can you please explain this process please, I would really appreciate it. Thanks so much.
me – sorry to confuse you. When I say cream the butter, I just mean to beat it on Medium until it’s light and fluffy. You would normally do this with the sugars at the beginning of the recipe.
I like the recommendation that rookie baker provided about the instructions. I will update the instructions to be more clear.
thank you so much Jen. You didnt confuse me though, I confused myself : ) I will try what you said right now, since I still have everything else prepared and hopefully it will work this time. thank you for the fast response and by the way, any thoughts on why it turned out like dough instead of batter? I put the right measurements of milk and so forth, but I hadnt added the eggs. My batter was so thick that It stopped my mixer.
Hm I don’t remember the batter being that thick before the egg whites go in… The only thing I could think of is if you measured the flower wrong or something. Hope they turn out for you this time!
Well I had 2 and 1/4 cups of flour. I believe thats whats on the directions.. I will double check. Thanks again for your fast response, I didnt think I would hear from you. Thanks so much : )
ok, this is the last post. Im sorry to keep bothering you. I was just thinking when you say 2 and 1/4 cups of flour plus 2 tbsp for oreos. Would I be taking 2 tblsp from the 2 and 1/4 cups or would the 2+ cups be specifically for the batter and I need another 2 tbsp for the oreos, maybe thats where I went wrong. I will leave you alone after this : ) thanx.
It means 2 1/4 cups for the batter and then another 2 Tbsp for the Oreos.
Thank you so much! Enjoy the rest of your night..
i made these last week for my birthday. they were AMAZING. literally oreo-tastic. and the oreo at the bottom? genius! they were a big hit. thanks!
You inspired me to make oreo cupcakes! Check them out here: http://foodiesatworkdotcom.blogspot.com/2010/05/cookies-cream-cupcakes.html
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These were awesome! I made three kinds of cupcakes for my BIL’s 40th birthday and they were all a hit but people ooooooohed and awwwwed over these!
I linked to your recipe and used my own pictures here:
http://recipeladrona.blogspot.com/2010/05/oreo-cupcakes.html
i tried making these before but the oreo piece stuck to the wrapper at the bottom and they were all ruined. did i do something wrong? should i have done something to the bottom of the liner first?
Brave New Baker – Sorry to hear that. I don’t do anything to the bottom of the cupcake liner. I just throw the half Oreo in there cookie side down. I haven’t ever had that issue before…
Love your blog 🙂 I made these today and they look perfect. I haven’t frosted them yet, do you refrigerate after frosting since it is cream cheese? I’m not sure what to do about frosting since they won’t be eaten until the next day.
Lindsay – I do refrigerate these since they have cream cheese frosting on them.
Thank you, they were a hit!
I will be collecting all Oreo Cupcakes I can find and experiment to see which I like best. I look forward to making your version.
How cool that you created the recipe!
Carmen
I tried these out but the Oreos at the bottom stuck to the paper. Any way I can avoid that?
Jackellyn – I haven’t ever had that problem myself. Were you sure to put them so the cookie side is down on the bottom of the cupcake liner. I’m not sure what else would cause that issue. Sorry they didn’t turn out for you…
Awesome recipe Jen! I made these for a party and they were a big hit. http://homeiswheretheholmansare.blogspot.com/2010/07/oreo-cupcakes.html
wow. It didn’t come out as I’d expected. Of course not as perfec as yours. But truly They tasted amazing and I was so lucky to find your recipe =].
These are amazing I am sharing the recipe with all my friends!!
What’s cream cheese?
bearybear – It’s a common ingredient here in the US. Here’s the wiki page for it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cream_cheese
I’d love to try this but only want to make 12. Would you recommend 1 or 2 egg whites?
New follower here after seeing your Oreo Cupcakes mentioned on another blog.
These cupcakes look so delicious and naughty.Mmmmmmmm!
enjoy ur weekend
carol
mom – I’d probably just use 1
Just wanted to say that I love your blog…I have the most fun reading your entries and looking through your recipes…thanks for offering so much and for being so considerate in your posts.I recently made these cupcakes based on your rave reviews and everyone I made them for absolutely loved them….I had bought oreos when they were on sale and I came across this recipe and saved it…I will be using this again and again…thanks!
Thank you Beantown Baker! I am a Boston gal stuck in Upstate NY for med school, these recipes keep me excited to cook in the kitchen and avoid my med textbooks! Thank you for your recipes and I am definitely excited to try this recipe this weekend! 🙂
Hi,
I am from the Wales in the UK and allthough I have bought some cups I havent really got used to using them and dont know how much a stick of butter is? I would love to try your recipe, would you be able to re-post the recipe using gram’s or even pounds and Oz’s so I may try it? Many Thanks
Rhian x
Hi! I’m from Barcelona, and I had a bit problem converting the units!
Here’s what I used: 113gr. butter, 245 ml milk, 10 ml vanilla extract, 282gr. flour, 10gr.baking powder, a bit of salt, 332gr. sugar, 3 egg whites, 45 cookies.
For the frosting: 226gr. cream cheese, 113gr. butter, 5 ml vanilla extract, 330gr. powdered sugar (though I finally used a bit less of sugar).
They turned out great, although something didn’t work quite right. The bottom Oreo stuck to the liner. And some of them were a bit raw on the inside (the ones that had too much cookies inside).
Anyway, next time I’m sure they will turn out better!
Do you sift the dry ingredients together or just mix as is? I want to make these cupcakes tomorrow, they look delicious!
I just mixed them in a small bowl with a whisk. I never sift dry ingredients…
113g of butter 🙂
Here is a slight variation: http://adventuresofthehungrypanda.blogspot.com/2011/03/oreo-cupcakes-with-oreo-cream-cheese.html
Thanks so much for your recipe, Beantown Baker!
Glad you liked them! Yours look great as well.
what kind of flour do you use?
For all my recipes, if I don’t specify, then I used all-purpose flour.
how do you seperate the oreos so the filling is always on one side
Can i use salted butter instead of unsalted one?
I just made these and had a piece of the cupcake! Yum! I can’t wait to try them with the icing!
I made these last night and they are DELICIOUS! Very easy and fun to make and very moist. Tastes like your eating a huge oreo! Thanks so much for sharing! I am starting a cupcake business and would like to add this to my list of recipes if you don’t mind?
Will this stay good in the fridge for two days?
beantownbaker — April 25th, 2013 @ 7:45 am
The cupcakes themselves will keep in the fridge, but the Oreo garnish on top will get soggy. I would make them in advance and then frost and garnish them the day you plan to serve them. Or make and frost, then garnish the day of.
I tried this recipe to give my boyfriend as a birthday gift, why does it smell like flour when I remove it from the oven? Did I do something wrong?
beantownbaker — June 10th, 2013 @ 12:30 pm
Sorry for not responding sooner, I just saw this comment.
I’ve never noticed the smell of flour when they come out of the oven. How did they taste?
Best cupcake recipe EVER!!!!! I love the cupcakes so much! I made them for a party and they were a HUGE hit! Thank you!
beantownbaker — June 10th, 2013 @ 12:29 pm
So glad you enjoyed them! We LOVE this cupcake recipe too.
I baked the cupcake portion only (minus all the Oreo) to use as a plain vanilla cupcake. The texture was great, but it was so incredibly sweet. Would reducing the amount of sugar work or would that throw off the recipe?
beantownbaker — June 27th, 2013 @ 9:13 pm
Hm. I think you’d be better off making a recipe that’s meant to not have cookies in it. Here are my favorite recipes for a white cupcake and a yellow cupcake.
Thanks for the reply, I’ll be giving the white version a try tomorrow, thanks again!
I have made these cupcakes once before and everyone loved them. But I hate to waste egg yolks, would it change the texture too much to use whole eggs?
beantownbaker — June 28th, 2013 @ 4:20 pm
Egg yolks contain the fat in the egg, so I’d be tempted to cut back on the amount of butter in the cupcakes. It would definitely be an experiment to find the right balance. What I do is just make a recipe that takes egg yolks! Like ice cream or lemon curd.
I love this recipe and have made it several times. I was wondering if the unfrosted cupcakes can be frozen? Thanks!
Made these last week. absolutely UNBELIEVABLE. I got so many compliments on them! I literally had people tell me they were the best cupcakes they had ever had! Will definitely be making these again thanks for a great recipe 🙂 As one poster suggested I switched the order of directions and creamed the butter and sugar. added vanilla, then egg whites. then alternated mixing the flour mixture and milk. I also dipped the cream cheese frosted tops right into a bowl of oreo crumbs (used a food processor to get them pretty fine) and skipped the 1/2 oreo on top. I only needed 1 serving of the cream cheese frosting. Can’t wait to make these again!
beantownbaker — March 2nd, 2014 @ 12:02 pm
So glad you enjoyed these. They’re still an all-time favorite of ours too. Great idea to just dip the frosted cupcakes in crushed oreos.
I did this but sadly the butter came out liquidy. I dont know whats the problem. I added flour but when its cooked it doesnt have that cupcake texture. Can u help me to make it better? Whats is the problem?
beantownbaker — March 8th, 2014 @ 1:14 pm
This batter should be fairly thick and dense. That’s how it holds the chunks of Oreos in it. Did you make any substitutions? Is it possible that your baking powder is expired?
Could the cupcakes be made a day in advance and frosted right before serving? Will the oreo on the bottom become too soggy?
beantownbaker — March 25th, 2014 @ 9:24 pm
The Oreo on the bottom won’t get soggy. The one added as a garnish will get soggy over a day or two though.
Hi,
I just made a batch of these last night – thanks for the yummy recipe. I started the recipe per instructions b/c I wanted to see if I could get the milk and sugar to come together. Fail. I used kitchen aide mixer and tried whipping it for awhile, but it was just a pool of chunky butter pieces (even though I had already creamed the butter prior to the milk). Anyway, I threw out that batch of wet ingredients and went back to the way I am used to baking – cream butter and sugar together, add eggs and vanilla. Then incorporate flour and milk alternately just until combined. Don’t over mix. Then, gently fold in orea pieces. They came out great. I like that the cupcake is dense, more like a muffin and holds the oreo pieces perfectly.
beantownbaker — May 17th, 2014 @ 6:12 pm
Glad you enjoyed the recipe!
I too found that the batter had the consistency of dough up until I added the sugar, which returned it to a consistency I’m used to seeing when making cupcakes. I thought I’d made a mistake as well until I finally added the sugar and then egg whites.
beantownbaker — September 2nd, 2014 @ 7:15 pm
Yea, this recipe mixing is unique, so it always feels weird until the end when it all comes together.
These cupcakes are amazing! I made them for a bake sale and they were the first things to go! Great recipe! Thanks Jen!