Frosted Browned-Butter Sugar Cookies

Grain Free. Low Carb. Vegan Version. Amazing.

I'm not usually one to 'toot my own horn' but I must tell you that I make a darn good frosted sugar cookie every holiday season! For several years, they were so popular with friends and family that I made them in huge batches and shipped them all over the country to our loved ones! Three years ago, I went gluten free and because it was still a bit new to me, I just skipped the annual sugar cookie making routine. Trying to convert the recipe to gluten free sounded really overwhelming at the time as I was still new to gluten free baking! 

Last year though, much to the happiness of our friends and family, I successfully converted my original recipe to a gluten free varietal - in fact it is actually grain-free and only uses blanched almond flour! The secret to this recipe is browning the butter, which lends a rich taste to these thin, melt in your mouth sugar cookies! These taste just like the traditional version you are used to...SERIOUSLY! 

Frosted Browned Butter Sugar Cookies (PRINT RECIPE)
Ingredients:
For the cookies:
2 cups blanched almond flour (not almond meal)
5 tablespoons organic, unsalted butter or organic ghee*
¼ cup honey or agave
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon sea salt

For the frosting:
¾ cup powdered sugar
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
1-2 tablespoons organic half and half or creamer or non-dairy creamer

Evaporated cane juice sugar or coconut sugar for sprinkling (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat; cook 6 minutes or until browned. 
3. Pour butter into a large mixing bowl and let cool for 5 minutes.
4. Add the honey and ½ teaspoon vanilla extract to the butter and beat with an electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds to 1 minute. 
5. Add flour and sea salt to butter mixture and stir with a spatula until it resembles a thick, creamy batter. 
6. Put batter in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes – this will makes it much easier to work with.
7. Place ½ of chilled batter/dough onto parchment paper, then place another piece of parchment on top of the dough and use a rolling pin to roll dough to ¼ inch thickness. 
8. Place remaining dough back in the refrigerator to re-chill for your second batch. 
9. Cut rolled dough using your choice of cookie cutter shapes.**
10. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place cookies 1 inch apart on the baking sheet.
11. Bake for 8 minutes or until edges are golden brown.
12. Allow cookies to cool on pan for 10 minutes and then transfer to wire rack.
13. Repeat steps 7-12 using the remaining ½ of batter for your second batch of cookies.
14. While cookies cool, make the frosting by whisking ingredients well in a small bowl. Once cookies are completely cooled and slightly hardened you will frost them. 
15. To frost, use a teaspoon and drizzle about ½ teaspoon of frosting in the center of one cookie. Use the back of the spoon to smear the frosting over the cookie towards the edges. 
16. Sprinkle with coconut sugar or evaporated cane juice sugar (optional). 
17. Allow frosting to harden, about 5-8 minutes before eating these delicious treats.

*You can substitute coconut or palm fruit oil here instead, start with 4 tablespoons and if it needs more moisture, add another tablespoon. You will also skip step #2 and just melt the oil in the microwave. 

**This dough will not be quite the same as your traditional sugar cookie dough; it is a bit more ‘delicate’ to work with. Once you have it rolled and your cutouts are made, I recommend transferring your cookies to the sheet using a flat, smooth spatula instead of your fingers to prevent your ‘fun shapes’ from ripping apart.

Enjoy and Happy Holidays!
~Billie