Could I Use Brown Butter For The Butter Cut-Out Cookies?

Our answer

Nigella's Butter Cut-Out Cookies (from HOW TO BE A DOMESTIC GODDESS) are sugar cookies that have not only a melting texture when eaten, but also hold their shape well during baking.

Brown butter is butter that has been cooked until the milk solids turn brown, giving the butter a slightly nutty taste (it is called "beurre noisette" or "hazelnut butter" in French). Adding brown butter to baked goods can give them a slightly more toasty, complex flavour, which many people like. We don't see any reason not to use brown butter for the cookies, but note that you may also see some small flecks of brown in the cookies from the milk solids. Make sure that the brown butter is chilled so that it is firm but not solid before you use it as you need to be able to cream the butter with the caster sugar at the start of the recipe. If you are making brown butter specifically for the cookies then you will need to start with about 200g (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter as some water will evaporate when you make the brown butter. If you want to strain out the brown milk solids before using the butter, then you need to cook even more extra butter and make sure that you use the weight or same quantity of brown butter as regular butter for the cookies.