Equipment
Method
- Brown the Butter: Add the salted butter to a light-colored saucepan over medium heat. It will melt, foam, and crackle — keep swirling the pan. After about 5–7 minutes, the foam settles, the bubbling quiets down, and you'll see golden-brown bits at the bottom with a nutty smell. Take it off the heat right away and pour it into a large mixing bowl, scraping in all those brown bits (that's the flavor!). (WATCH VIDEO BELOW)
- Let It Cool: Let the brown butter cool for about 10–15 minutes. You want it warm, not hot — if it's too hot, it'll start cooking the eggs.
- Add the Sugars: Add the brown sugar and white sugar to the cooled butter and whisk until combined.
- Add the Eggs and Vanilla: Add the 2 eggs and the vanilla extract. Whisk everything together until the mixture is smooth, thick and glossy — about 1 minute. (WATCH VIDEO BELOW)
- Whisk in the Dry Ingredients: Add the flour and baking soda and mix until no dry streaks are left. It'll get thick fast, so switch to a spatula if your whisk is struggling. Don't overmix — stop as soon as it comes together into a soft cookie dough.
- Fold in the Reese's Pieces: Add the Reese's Pieces and fold them in until they're evenly spread through the dough. (WATCH VIDEO BELOW)
- Chill the Dough: Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours. This firms up the butter so the cookies bake up thick instead of spreading flat. (WATCH VIDEO BELOW)
- Preheat and Portion: Preheat the oven to [MAJA: confirm oven temperature — most recipes like this bake at 350°F / 175°C] and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Split the chilled dough into 12 equal balls and place them a few inches apart — they're big cookies, so give them space! Press a few extra Reese's Pieces on top if you like.
- Bake: Bake for 12 minutes, until the edges are golden and the centers still look slightly soft. They'll keep setting as they cool. (WATCH VIDEO BELOW)
- Cool: Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for a couple of minutes, then move them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Enjoy! Grab a big glass of cold milk and dig in!
Watch the butter closely. Brown butter goes from perfect to burnt in seconds. The moment it smells nutty and you see golden-brown bits, pull it off the heat. A light-colored pan makes this so much easier!
Don't skip the chill. Brown butter is melted butter, which means the dough is soft and will spread a lot if you bake it right away. Two hours in the fridge gives you thick, chewy, bakery-style cookies.
Use salted butter. I tested this with unsalted too, and the salted version won every time — it makes the peanut butter flavor pop and keeps the cookies from tasting too sweet.
Notes
Storage
- Room temperature: Store cooled cookies in an airtight container for up to 4–5 days. Tip: add a slice of bread to the container to keep them soft!
- Fridge (dough): The wrapped dough keeps in the fridge for up to 3 days — let it sit out for 10 minutes before rolling if it's very firm.
- Reheat: Warm a cookie in the microwave for 10–15 seconds for that fresh-from-the-oven gooey center, or pop a few in a 300°F (150°C) oven for 3–4 minutes.
- Freezer (baked cookies): Freeze in a zip-top bag for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature.
- Freezer (dough balls): Roll the dough into balls, freeze on a tray, then transfer to a freezer bag for up to 3 months. Bake straight from frozen, adding 1–2 minutes to the bake time.