Tag: caramelized puffed rice cereal

Brown Butter Coconut Caramel Cripsies

Because leaving well enough alone is boring, I like to rotate a couple of the cookie selections each year for holiday baking.  This year, one of the new kids is a deeply browned butter, lacy coconut and caramel crispy concoction.

This should not come as a surprise considering my current obsession with caramelized rice crispies.  As you might recall, I employed them in various and delicious ways including a Cracker Jack inspired bar, an extra chocolate chip cookie and some meta rice cripsie (or is it Krispy…or Krispie) treats.

And then there is my absolute favorite cookie discovery of 2019: Browned Butter Coconut Cookies.

I know.  You know.  Where I’m going.

These take some time; the butter needs to brown and cool in advance and the caramel crispies need to be made separately.  BUT, if these flavors are your jam, it’s totally worth it.

Brown Butter Caramel Crispies

For the Caramelized Crispy Rice

Ingredients

  • 2 C crispy rice cereal (have had good results with both regular and brown rice versions)
  • 3 TBS water
  • 1/2 C granulated sugar

Directions

  1. Line a baking sheet with parchment.
  2. In a medium heavy-bottomed sauce pan add sugar.  Then add water and mix until sugar dissolves.  This is the last time you are going to want to touch the mixture until you take it off the heat the first time.
  3. Bring mixture to a boil (don’t stir) and allow to simmer until the syrup just starts to brown.
  4. Remove from heat and mix in cereal (I find a rubber spatula works the best). Gently mix cereal until ever last piece is covered in syrup.  By the time you there, everything will have dried and look like its dusted in snow (and now we know how they make Frosted Flakes).
  5. Return to heat over a medium burned and fold constantly.  The sugar will start to melt and caramelize.  Keep folding until you reach desired depth of caramelization.  I know the version I like is done when the sugar starts to smoke.
  6. Spread cereal on parchment lined baking sheet and allow to cool completely.
  7. From here you can store in an airtight container in big hunks.

For the cookies

Ingredients

  • 1 C (2 sticks or 225 grams) unsalted butter
  • 2 TBS water
  • 1/2 C plus 2 TBS (125 grams) granulated sugar
  • 3/4 C (145 grams) packed light-brown sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1 1/4 C plus 3 tablespoons (175 grams) all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • Slightly heaped 1/2 tsp flaky sea salt or 1/4 teaspoon table salt
  • 3 C (180 grams) dried, unsweetened coconut chips
  • 1/2 batch caramelized crispy rice (so feel free to eat the other half)

Directions

  1. In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. It will melt, then foam, then turn clear golden and finally start to turn brown and smell nutty. Stir frequently, scraping up any bits from the bottom as you do.  Once it is a deeply fragrant, almost nut-brown color, remove from heat and pour butter and all browned bits at the bottom into a measuring cup. Adding 2 tablespoons water should bring the butter amount back up to 1 cup.
  2. Chill browned butter in the fridge until it solidifies, about 1 to 2 hours.
  3. Scrape chilled browned butter and any bits into a large mixing bowl. Add both sugars and beat the mixture together until fluffy.
  4. Add egg and beat until combined, scraping down bowl as needed, then vanilla.
  5. Meanwhile, whisk flour, baking soda and salt together in a separate bowl. Pour half of flour mixture into butter mixture and mix until combined, then add remaining flour and mix again, scraping down bowl if needed. Add coconut chips in two parts as well.
  6. Fold-in caramelized rice crispies.
  7. Scoop dough into 1 inch balls, flatten each slightly and arrange all onto a baking sheet (separating layers with parchment paper).  Refrigerate for an hour up to over night.
  8. When you are ready to bake, heat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat.
  9. Arrange a few with a lot of room for spreading on the baking sheets.  Bake cookies until golden brown all over, about 10 minutes (rotate halfway through cooking).  Repeat to bake all cookies.
  10. Cool cookies on baking sheets for 1 to 2 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Cookies keep for up to one week at room temperature. Extra dough can be stored in the fridge for several days or in the freezer for a month or more.

Why can’t you just be normal?

Sometimes TD will wander into the kitchen when I’m baking, survey the land of often strange ingredients and ask with a sigh, “why can’t you just make chocolate chip cookies?”

He’s basically asking me why I can’t be normal.  We’ve been together for 19 years.  You’d think he would have stopped asking by now.

But. I am sympathetic to his plight.  He’s just looking for a tasty treat while I’m attempting world baking domination with dried hibiscus and tahini.

Earlier this summer, I offered up a peace flag in chocolate chip cookie form.  Recognizable enough that TD wouldn’t have to guess the mystery ingredient but just extra enough to keep with my own baking agenda: brown butter caramel crispy chocolate chip cookies.

I told you I am fixated on these nearly-burned but not quite caramel crispies.  Add in some brown butter and lots of chocolate and you’ve got an impressive Z score.

Because normal is boring.

Brown Butter Caramel Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Note–you could make the dough and bake in the same day.  I happen to like to let my dough marinate over night (or a month in the freezer after I scoop into balls).  I’ve written the recipe for an overnight–but do what you want.

Ingredients

  • 1 C (8 ounces) brown butter at room temp (need the recipe? brown butter)
  • 1 C packed golden brown sugar
  • 1/2 C granulated sugar
  • 1 egg plus 1 egg yolk
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2  1/8 C all purpose flour
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 12 ounces (regular sized package) chocolate chips
  • 1 1/2 C (or to taste) caramelized crisps (link for recipe)

Directions

  1. In a medium bowl, sift together flour and baking soda.  Whisk in salt and set aside.
  2. In the bowl of a standing mixer, add butter.  Cream for a couple of minutes.
  3. Add both sugars, cream for another couple of minutes, scraping down the bowl as you go.
  4. Beat-in egg and egg yolk one-at-a-time.  Beat-in vanilla.
  5. Pull bowl from standing mixer and gently fold-in flour mixture until nearly combined.
  6. Fold-in chocolate chips and caramelized rice.
  7. Using a scoop of desired size (I like a #40 or just under 2 TBS scooper) scoop dough into domes.  Line domes onto a baking sheet (separate layers with two parchment sheets), wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate over night.  Once the cookie domes are cold, you can easily transfer them to a freezer ziplock bag and store for one-off baking for up to a month.  Just add a couple of minutes to the cook time.
  8. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line backing sheets with parchment.
  9. Please dough domes on baking sheets leaving a couple of inches between each for spread.
  10. Bake in oven two-sheets at a time, rotating halfway through.  In my ovens, these usually cook in about 10 minutes.