Brown Butter Sourdough Chocolate Chunk Cookies: Santa’s Hat Version
Meet the perfect Christmas cookie: Mini Brown Butter Sourdough Chocolate Chunk Cookies, piped with fluffy homemade marshmallow on top and dipped in chocolate for the ultimate festive crunch. These bite-sized brown butter sourdough cookies are rich, chewy, and guaranteed to steal the show on any holiday cookie tray.
Ingredients you’ll need:
- unsalted butter
- light brown sugar
- granulated cane sugar
- milk chocolate, chopped
- dark chocolate, for dipping
- flour
- salt
- baking powder
- baking soda
- eggs
- sourdough discard
- vanilla extract
- gelatin
TIPS When adding the Make the Homemade Marshmallow Fluff:
- Once you’ve whipped to silky ribbons, you’ll want to immediately transfer to a large piping bag to start piping. The marshmallow fluff will begin to stiffen up so you want to keep moving.
- Let sit for at least 30 minutes before dipping in chocolate melted with coconut oil.
- Let firm up in the fridge for 20-30 minutes, or temper the chocolate if you plan on keeping out at room temperature.
How to Store the Cookies:
If the chocolate tempered, store in an airtight container or cookie jar at room temperature away from direct heat or sunlight for up to 2 weeks.
If chocolate isn’t tempered, store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Bake with me!
Brown Butter Sourdough Chocolate Chunk Cookies: Santa’s Hat Version
Ingredients
For the Brown Butter Sourdough Chocolate Chunk Cookies:
- 1/2 cup Light Brown Sugar
- 1 3/4 cups All Purpose Flour
- 1 tsp. Fine Sea Salt
- 1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
- 1/4 tsp. Baking Soda
- 8 tbsp. Unsalted Butter
- 1 Egg
- 1 Egg Yolk
- 1/2 cup Sourdough Discard
- 1 1/2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
- 1/2 cup Granulated Cane Sugar
- 1 1/2 cups Milk Chocolate chopped
For the Homemade Marshmallow Fluff:
- 1 1/2 tbsp. Gelatin
- 1 1/2 cups Cold Water divided
- 1 1/2 cups Granulated Cane Sugar
- 1/4 tsp. Salt
- 2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
For Decorating:
- Melted Chocolate
- Coconut Oil
- Flaky Sea Salt or Cocoa Powder
Instructions
To Make the Cookies:
- In a large bowl, mix together the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.
- Add the butter to a heavy bottom saucepan over medium heat. Stir until melted and the butter forms brown specks at the bottom, about 5-6 minutes. The browned butter will also smell nutty when done. Remove from heat to cool down to room temperature.
- In a large bowl, combine the brown sugar, granulated cane sugar, egg, egg yolk, and brown butter. Whisk vigorously for 2 minutes, until fluffy and smooth. Whisk in the vanilla and sourdough discard.
- Fold in the flour mixture with a spatula.
- If the mixture is still warm to touch, place in the freezer for 5-10 minutes before folding in the chopped chocolate.
- Cover with Saran Wrap and let chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours to overnight.
To Bake the Cookies:
- Preheat oven to 375F. Line a large baking pan with parchment paper.
- Use a melon scooper, about 1 tablespoon dough per cookie, to make the mini cookies. Roll in the palms of your hands then flatten to 1/4″ thick. Evenly distribute on your prepared pan.
- Bake for 5-6 minutes, until set in the centers. Let cool completely before adding the marshmallow fluff.
To Make the Marshmallow Fluff:
- In a small bowl, mix the gelatin and 1/2 cup cold water together. Set aside for 10 minutes to thicken up.
- Place the remaining 1 cup of water and sugar in a deep saucepan over medium heat. Stir until sugar is dissolved.
- Use a candy thermometer to know when the sugar has reached 240F, then carefully remove and pour into your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.
- Add the gelatin mixture. Beat on LOW speed for 2 minutes, then increased speed to HIGH for 8-10 minutes, until doubled in volume and super fluffy. Add the vanilla and salt half way through whipping. Make sure you whip until pretty stiff peaks to help with the piping .
- Transfer to a large piping bag, then snip off a 1/4 – 1/2″ opening. Pipe tall mounds on each miniature cookie.
- Let rest 30 minutes, until tacky to touch and won’t fall off the cookies when turned over.
To Decorate:
- Combine the melted chocolate of choice with coconut oil to thin out in a small, deep glass.
- Dip the marshmallow portion of the cookies then gently shake off any excess.
- Place on a parchment paper line baking pan. Let firm up in the fridge for 20 minutes, or at room temperature for 1 hour.
I truly hope you all enjoy this treasured recipe that has nestled its way into our hearts here in the ABM kitchen! ’till next time… xxL
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” ~ Jeremiah 29:11 NIV
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Is it possible to do this without discard?
Absolutely! I recommend using my NYC brown butter chocolate chunk cookie recipe as the base 😉 https://abrightmoment.com/nyc-bakery-style-browned-butter-chocolate-chunk-cookies/
Hi! These look amazing! Can you include your method for tempering the chocolate? Thank you!
Hi Kim! Tempering chocolate is super easy: melt most of your chocolate, then stir in a handful of chopped, unmelted chocolate to cool it down and “teach” it to set shiny and smooth. Once it thickens slightly and feels cooler, warm it just a touch if needed to dip in!
I’m trying to understand cook time. Do they really only need 5-6 min in oven? Or am I missing a step?
Hi Claire! When you make the mini versions, they only need half the time (or even less) than regular cookies 😉 Otherwise, they’ll be super crunchy lol
Hey 🙂 what happens to the powdered sugar in the marshmallow fluff? Is it dissolved and heated in the water? That part is still a bit unclear to me from the recipe. Thanks!
Hi Paul! Sorry for any confusion, the powdered sugar was integrated into my brain from making normal marshmallows, but is not necessary for this recipe. It has been removed from the ingredients list 😉
This is the cutest thing ever!! Can I use an unrefined sugar for the marshmallow?
Yes, that should work just fine! Hope you enjoy, Olivia!! 🙂
Is it possible to make this recipe without sourdough discard?
Hi Olivia! I suggest using my NYC Brown Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookie recipe as the base if you don’t have sourdough!
I made this for my Christmas cookie exchange and everyone loved them!! Every detail comes together at the end- the browned butter goodness, the pillowy marshmallow, and the slightly crunchy chocolate on top with the flaky salt! So good!! The cookie itself is also delicious standalone. I made this recipe twice and the second time I made it, I opted to do chopped semi sweet chocolate in the cookie, added 1 extra tbs of butter, and baked for an additional 2 minutes, they came out just as I wanted!! I personally don’t like more cakey cookies and that’s the texture if you cook them until the middle is fully set in the middle since they are so small. I also had trouble with the marshmallow “stacking” to create the ‘hat’, it all fell flat into a moon pie situation after I piped it on top.
I will definitely be adding these to my rotation of cookies not just for Christmas!! Maybe still special occasions since they take at least 2 days to make haha
Hi there, could you use gelatine leaf? Instead of powder? Would it work the same?
Many thanks
Hi Phoebe! I’ve never worked with gelatin leaf before, but from prior research, I think you’d need to soak the leaves in COLD water for 5-10 minutes (then squeeze out as much as possible) before placing in the stand mixer bowl with the hot sugar syrup. I would also suggest add all the water into the saucepan with the sugar, rather than dividing it out since you’ll be squeezing water out. Hope that makes sense!