High Altitude Brown Butter Strawberry Cookies

These thick and chewy high altitude strawberry cookies are bursting with flavor from freeze-dried strawberries and the rich nuttiness of brown butter. A little nutmeg, cloves, and vanilla beautifully complements the tart strawberries and the brown butter. This high altitude strawberry cookie recipe is also very easy to make, and the dough comes together quickly with just a bowl and spoon.

Looking for more recipes like this? Don’t miss these strawberry blondies, heart shaped strawberry shortbread cookies, and fresh strawberry pretzel pie.

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Ingredients

• Unsalted Butter. The butter adds fat and richness, while browning the butter toasts the milk solids to add a lovely nutty flavor to these strawberry cookies.
• Granulated Sugar + Dark Brown Sugar. Adds sweetness and moisture.
• Vanilla Extract. Use good-quality vanilla extract for the best flavor.
• Eggs. Emulsifies the dough and binds it together.
• All-Purpose Flour. Adds structure and thickens the dough.
• Baking Soda + Baking Powder. Leavens the dough so the cookies puff up as they bake.
• Coarse Kosher Salt. Balances the sweetness and enhances the flavor of the brown butter.
• Nutmeg + Cloves. A little spice to complement the flavor of the brown butter and strawberries.
• Freeze-Dried Strawberries. The freeze-dried strawberries add a punch of strawberry flavor without adding excess moisture to the cookies. They crush into powder easily, so instead of chopping them with a knife to add to the cookie batter, I recommend simply breaking them into pieces about 1/4 – 1/2 inch in size.

See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.

Instructions

Make the Browned Butter

• In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.  Continue to cook the butter, swirling occasionally, until the water evaporates, and the butter forms fragrant, nutty brown solids at the bottom of the pan.
• Remove from the heat and immediately pour the hot butter into a bowl, scraping all the browned bits off the bottom of the saucepan with a spatula.

Add the Sugar and Vanilla

• Add the granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla to the brown butter, and stir together with a wooden spoon. The mixture will be grainy, and the butter may not fully mix in – this is okay.
• Let cool for 10 minutes.

Beat in the Eggs

• Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing vigorously to smooth out the batter. The batter should be very smooth now, with a “ribbony” texture when you let the batter drizzle off the spoon into the bowl.

Stir in the Dry Ingredients

• Separately, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cloves. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, and mix together to form a smooth dough.
• Add the freeze dried strawberries and work them into the dough with your spoon to distribute them evenly throughout.

Shape and Chill the Cookie Dough

• Using a cookie scoop or a spoon, portion the dough out into 32 equal portions. I prefer to do this with a food scale, to make sure each cookie is uniform in size so they all bake evenly. You should have about 40 ounces of dough, so weigh out 1.25 oz (35 grams) of dough per cookie.
• Roll the dough into balls, then flatten each ball slightly with your hand so you have little disks measuring 2 inches across. Note that if you don’t flatten the dough balls, they’ll bake with puffy pillow top centers.
• Place the dough disks in an airtight container and chill in the refrigerator for 45 minutes. (Skip this step, or chill for a shorter time, if you prefer thinner, flatter cookies.)

Bake the Cookies

• Preheat the oven to 350, and line a large baking sheet with a sheet of parchment paper.
• Place the chilled dough 2 inches apart on the baking sheet and bake on the center oven rack for 7 1/2 – 8 minutes, until the cookies are a very pale golden brown, but still a little underdone in the middle.
• Let cool on the pan for 1 minute, then gently transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do you use freeze-dried strawberries instead of fresh strawberries?

• With freeze-dried fruit, the water is completely removed during the freeze-dried preparation, but the fruit retains its flavor and vivid color. While fresh strawberries would add excess moisture to cookie dough, and the color would fade during baking, freeze-dried strawberries remain beautifully red and flavorful, making them a perfect ingredient for baking cookies.

Where can I buy freeze-dried strawberries?

• Freeze-dried strawberries and other fruits are more widely available than ever before, and you can find them at many grocery stores, as well as Target. And, of course, if you can’t find them locally, you can buy them on Amazon.

Can I make these cookies without browning the butter first?

• Browning the butter first adds a rich, nutty flavor to these strawberry cookies that’s just delicious. If you prefer, you can simply use melted butter that hasn’t been browned, but you’ll need to reduce it by several tablespoons.

Will gluten-free flour work in this recipe?

• Yes, you can make gluten-free strawberry cookies with your favorite measure for measure gluten-free flour.

Does the cookie dough need to be chilled?

• Since we’re making the dough with hot browned butter, chilling it helps to solidify the butter again for pretty, puffy cookies that don’t spread out flat. That said, if you like a flatter, thinner cookie, you can skip the step of chilling the dough prior to baking.

Can I bake this recipe if I don’t live at high altitude?

• I developed this cookie recipe for high altitude bakers, and I test all my recipes at Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. You can certainly make this recipe at lower altitudes, and I’d recommend reducing the flour by 1/4 cup.

How should I store leftover cookies?

• You should store the cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 days, or wrap them well and freeze for 3-6 months.

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