Bake This Martha Stewart Cookie With What’s Already in Your Pantry

Baking, with its careful measurements and welcome aromas, can provide some measure of comfort during these uncertain times. Of course, you can’t just throw a handful of flour, sugar and baking soda into a bowl and expect top-notch results. When you’re looking for recipes, look to the most precise, trustworthy source you can. Enter: Martha Stewart.

 “People still try to take shortcuts in baking, and we try to tell them not to do that,” the doyenne of desserts told us. “Baking is much more of an exact science. If people [follow the recipe] they will get the best results.”

We learned from the master when Martha taught us how to make her Christmas faves at classes hosted by Williams Sonoma last December—gatherings which did double duty as celebrations for the release of her newest cookbook, Martha Stewart’s Cookie Perfection.

We have baked our way through many of the recipes in her book and keep coming back to this simple crinkle cookie—an especially good one to share now since it can be made with common pantry ingredients. It’s a fairly easy recipe too, so a good one to bake with family while they’re at home.

Recipe courtesy of MARTHA STEWART’S COOKIE PERFECTION Copyright © 2019 by Editors of Martha Stewart Living. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Penguin Random House

Brown-Butter Crinkle Cookies
Makes 3 Dozen

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
2 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted

1. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium-high. When it boils, reduce heat to medium; simmer until foamy. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally and scraping bottom of pan, until foam subsides, butter turns golden brown with a nutty aroma, and milk solids separate into brown specks that sink to bottom, 2 to 7 minutes. Remove from heat; transfer to a large heatproof bowl and let cool 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Stir 1/2 cup of the granulated sugar and the brown sugar into brown butter until combined, then stir in eggs and vanilla. Add flour mixture and stir until a dough forms. Transfer to a piece of plastic wrap, shape into a disk, and wrap tightly. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour and up to 2 days.
3. Preheat oven to 350°F. Place confectioners’ sugar and remaining 1/2 cup granulated sugar in 2 separate bowls. Scoop 1 tablespoon dough and roll into a ball; roll in granulated sugar, then coat with confectioners’ sugar (do not shake off excess). Transfer to parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing cookies about 1 inch apart. Repeat with remaining dough and sugars.
4. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies spread slightly, crackle, and are set at edges, 15 to 18 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks 5 minutes, then carefully transfer to racks; let cool completely. (Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature in a single layer up to 2 days.)