Rosemary Brown Butter Cookies

These rosemary brown butter savoury cookies feature a lightly spiced savoury cookie base, a rosemary roux sauce filling, and they are topped with a rich, nutty rosemary brown butter. 

Makes 16 Cookies

Ingredients:

For the filling:

• 35g butter
• 35g plain flour
• 350 ml milk
• 2 tbsp dried rosemary 
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper

For the base:

• 260g wholemeal flour
• 100g white flour
• 100g porridge oats
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 tsp cream of tartar
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 170g butter
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 egg
• 180ml milk 

For the topping:

• 200g butter
• 2 tbsp dried rosemary 

Method:

Make the filling:

1. Combine butter and flour in a medium saucepan on medium heat, stirring constantly until a thick paste forms.
2. Pour in milk and whisk VIGOROUSLY (you're gonna have to beat the sh*t out of it to stop lumps forming) until the sauce is smooth.
3. Add rosemary, salt and pepper and continue to whisk until the sauce bubbles and thickens to a jelly-like texture. 
4. Transfer the thick sauce into a small bowl and place in the freezer. This will make it easier to stuff into the cookies later!

Make the cookies:

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, oats, bicarbonate of soda, cream of tartar, baking powder, salt and pepper until combined. 
2. Cut your butter into small cubes and place into a medium saucepan. Cook on a medium heat to brown your butter. The butter will first melt, then bubble vigorously. After this, the bubbles will begin to look like foam - when this happens pay very close attention as your butter will brown very quickly. Once it is brown, it will smell nutty. Take it off the heat.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, egg and milk. Add your brown butter, making sure to scrape in all the sediment (this is the caramelised part!) and whisk thoroughly. Pour in your flour mixture and combine with a spatula until a smooth dough forms. 
4. Place your dough in a small bowl and refrigerate for a minimum of 30 minutes. 

Cook!

1. Preheat your oven to 180C and line 2 large baking trays. 
2. Take your sauce out of the freezer and cut into 16 equal pieces. Do the same with your cookie dough.
3. Now, you want to assemble your cookie with the filling in the centre. The easiest way I have found to do this is to cut your cookie dough ball in half and make two pancakes. Place the frozen sauce on top of whichever pancake is slightly larger, and push up the edges of the cookie dough to encase the sauce as much as possible. Then, lay your other half of cookie dough over the top, and crimp the sides shut to seal them. Mess around a bit with the dough until it becomes spherical in shape. 
4. Lay your cookies out on a baking sheet and bake for 10-13 minutes until slightly golden. While they are baking, make your topping.

Make the topping:

1. Using the same process as before, brown your butter - this time adding in a little rosemary as the butter melts.

Assemble:

1. Once the cookies are baked, spoon over your brown butter as quickly as possible (remember to mix it so that the sediment is dispersed evenly through the butter). Let cool, and enjoy!
2. These cookies taste best hot!!! If you're in a rush, just microwave for 1 minute. For best taste, bake at 180C for 3-4 minutes. 

Enjoy your cookies! If you have any feedback for this recipe, I would love to hear!