I’ve actually wanted to make these for a few weeks now, and I’m so happy I finally got the chance to create these little gems over the weekend. They turned out so good that I made a second batch the same day! When the first step of a recipe is to brown butter it’s pretty much a guarantee that the result is going to be awesome. I don’t know about you, but the moment butter starts to turn brown and let off that wonderful nutty aroma, it immediately feels like fall to me. Once my kitchen was filled with the captivating aroma, I couldn’t help but think I wanted to add another layer of “fally” flavor to the cookies. After about 10 minutes of rummaging through my cabinets, I saw them – pepitas! Pepitas are edible pumpkin seeds which are very popular in Mexican cuisine. They have a lovely earthy flavor, and are even better when they are roasted and salted. I just had a feeling they would be the perfect addition to these cookies, and they were! I added some roasted pepitas to the cookie dough, and I also used them to garnish the cookies along with sea salt. Once the cookies were baked and cooled, I frosted them with a brown butter glaze. The more butter the better, right?! The glaze was definitely on the sweet side, but once I topped them with the pepitas and sea salt, the flavors were beautifully balanced!
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| Love how you can see the specks of brown butter in the glaze! |
- 6 oz. unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/2t. baking soda
- 1/4t. baking powder
- 1/2t. salt
- 1 & 1/2 cups AP flour
- 1/4 cup pepitas plus extra for garnish.
- Roast pepitas at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
- Brown butter over a medium heat stirring occasionally. Take it off the heat once it gets a nice color. Once you remove it from the heat it will continue to cook and get a bit darker. Keep a close eye on it because once it starts get color it burns very quickly.
- Once it cools down a bit mix it with both brown sugars on low speed and let it go till it’s completely cool.
- Add the egg on low speed.
- Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- Mix in pepitas till combined.
- Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Refrigerating the dough ensures that when you bake them, they bake evenly.
- Scoop the dough – I used a 1 oz. scoop.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 9 minutes rotating once half way through.
Brown Butter Glaze
- 3/4 stick unsalted butter
- 1 & 1/4 cups powdered sugar
- 1t. vanilla extract
- 2-3T. milk
- Brown butter and whisk in to powdered sugar.
- Whisk in vanilla.
- At this point you may need to add an extra Tablespoon of powdered sugar.
- Start adding milk 1 Tablespoon at a time till you reach desired consistency.
- Frost cooled cookies. If you notice the glaze sets up and is difficult to use, nook it for 10 seconds.
- Garnish with toasted pepitas and sea salt.
Kim Bee says
>Oh my goodness, these are out of this world. So pretty. I love when recipes are not only tasty but gorgeous too.
hungryaustralian.com says
>These look absolutely stunning! And I love the brown butter and pepitas combo.
Tina says
>These really do look tasty. Love the use of pepitas here-Well done.
Hester @ Alchemy in the Kitchen says
>I have been resisting the urge to bake cookies all week. This recipe has just broken my will power. It's the combo of brown butter and the little crunchy pepitas (which are so healthy!)
Fran Amenábar Ch. says
>This looks really nice and i love pumpkin pepitas
Mama's Gotta Bake says
>I thought I knew everything cookie out there, but I've never heard of this combination before. They look delicious, so this weekend I will give them a try.
artbyjazraf says
>I promised myself that I was not going to touch any of Meghan's confections when I went to talk to her about her new web make over. Then I walked into her kitchen and the smell of cookies and roasting pepitas drove me crazy. Like the Sirens in the Odyssey I was lured to the cookie tray without restraint. OMG papitas, salt and brown butter…I had to add a couple of extra miles to my walk the next morning.
briarrose says
>Definitely a must have seconds cookie. I love the pepitas in them.
Giulietta @ Alterkitchen says
>Maghan, these cookies look just amazing! And I love pepitas (they are very common also in Italy), so this is just perfect!
Eftychia says
>This is a unique cookie recipe for me. I usually have these pepitas in bread or in salads. I have to try this recipe too! My dietitian is going to kill me… 🙂
Gastronome Tart says
>Bookmarked…again! These look fantastic and with the addition of pepita's perfect for fall!
Anne@frommysweetheart says
>Gorgeous, gorgeous cookies Meghan! I could eat the brown butter cookies and be perfectly satisfied…but adding the pepitas which I love gives the perfect crunch to the perfect sweet cookie. Will pick up some pepitas at Trader Joes's this weekend and give these a try! Beautiful photo, too!
Beth Michelle says
>I love brown butter cookies and I lovve how you added the pepitas!! They look wonderful. What a great way to start off the fall season!
momdecuisine says
>I keep seeing brown butter used in sweet recipes. I guess I'll have to try too. Your cookies are beautiful!
S.V. says
>These look fantastic. I love brown butter add that to a cookie and glaze. Perfect!!!
Elies_Lie says
>Yes, I can see the brown butter in the glaze!Lovely!
I love pumpkin seed for cookies
Tq for sharing the recipe, I'm glad u made the second batch & post the recipe to us!
Great photos! 😉
Ryan says
>I've been bitten by the fall bug too! These cookies look delicious and my mouth was watering after reading your description! The salty and sweet combo sounds so good!
Kate @ Kate from Scratch says
>This combination is totally out of this world, awesome. What an amazing recipe!
egb says
>These look really fun and festive! What an unexpected use for pepitas!
TheProDiva says
>This sounds yummy! And it looks easy to make! Another recipe to add to the box! I love your header by the way!
Wilde in the Kitchen says
>These are so creative! I think I need to try these this fall, now to hunt down some pepitas…
sweetsbysillianah says
>i've been wanting to bake something with pepitas for a while now… these cookies might just be it – browned butter makes everything better! 😉 yum!
Stephanie says
>How delightful – I can almost smell the brown butter the way you describe it!
Sandra says
>I'm new to pepitas and browned butter but can't wait to dive headlong into both of them. Gorgeous cookies!
Lindsey@Lindselicious says
>These look so festive! They sound great- and good luck with all the changes. I want to do the same- I might have to come to you for lessons learned!
Lizzy says
>Oh, aren't these gorgeous????? And with brown butter??? YUM!
Jen at The Three Little Piglets says
>They look fabulous, and I love pepitas in anything – they're just the perfect little crunchy, salty bite. Can't wait to see the new look!
RavieNomNoms says
>These look really interesting. Brown butter is so yummy!