Buttered toast sugar cookies

Making baked goods out of baked goods

Hi! Just dropping in to share these buttered toast sugar cookies. They are a sibling to my funfetti cookies and graham cracker snickerdoodles; but instead of sprinkles or graham crackers, they’ve got toasty, buttery breadcrumbs inside and out.

This recipe combines my loves for repurposing leftovers and toasting ingredients. Awhile back one of my kids was in a “no crusts on my sandwich” phase; so I saved up the rejected crusts, toasted them, and blitzed them into breadcrumbs in a food processor. Some crumbs made it into meatballs and the rest into these cookies; and guess what — no-crusts child ate both of them. HA!

We’ve since moved past the no-crusts phase (at least for this week), but I’m still saving the end slices of sandwich loaves and stale bits of crusty sourdough loaves to make breadcrumbs.

Making breadcrumbs is simple. You can use whatever bread you have on hand, though for this particular recipe I’d steer clear of, say, cheesy garlic bread. First, dry the bread completely. I usually cube the bread and stick it in a low (250-300Fish) oven for about 10 minutes, or until lightly golden. Once cool, process in a food processor until you reach your desired crumb size. For these cookies, I aim for something resembling coarse cornmeal. Some size variance is totally fine; it will add texture to the cookie!

Store your breadcrumbs in the freezer, where they’ll last a good long time. (The biggest issue will be absorbing odors, so keep them in an airtight container away from smelly foods.) Use it in any of your recipes calling for breadcrumbs, like these cookies or this ice cream!

Buttered toast sugar cookies

Makes 12

Ingredients:

For the buttered toast crumbs:

• 14g unsalted butter

• 20g granulated sugar

• 60g breadcrumbs

• Pinch of salt 

• Pinch of cinnamon

For the buttered toast sugar cookie dough:

• 113g unsalted butter, at room temperature

• 120g granulated sugar

• 30g light brown sugar

• 15g toasted milk powder

• 1/2 tsp baking soda

• 3/4 tsp kosher salt (Diamond Crystal)

• 1 large egg, at room temperature

• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

• 170g all-purpose flour

• 60g buttered toast crumbs

To finish:

• 15g granulated sugar

• 15g buttered toast crumbs

• Flaky salt (optional)

Method:

Make the buttered toast crumbs: Place the butter and sugar in a small saucepan. Heat on medium-low, stirring occasionally, until the butter is completely melted. Add the breadcrumbs, salt, and cinnamon and continue cooking, stirring constantly, until the crumbs are very golden brown and your kitchen smells marvelously toasty. Transfer the crumbs to a heat-safe container and cool completely. (You can make the crumbs up to a week in advance; store in an airtight container at room temperature.)

Make the buttered toast cookie dough:

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a medium bowl using a hand mixer), combine the butter, sugars, toasted milk powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix on low to combine, then increase the speed to medium and cream until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle a couple times during this process to ensure even mixing.

2. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the egg and vanilla. Increase the speed to medium and mix until smooth, about 30 seconds. Scrape down the bowl and paddle.

3. With the mixer on low, add the flour and breadcrumbs. Mix just until a few streaks of flour remain. Use a flexible spatula to scrape from the bottom of the bowl a few times to make sure everything is well-mixed and there are no pockets of unincorporated flour. Cover and chill until firm but still scoopable, about 45 minutes.

4. While the dough is chilling, preheat the oven to 375°F with a rack in the middle and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Prepare the sugar sprinkle by combining the buttered toast crumbs and granulated sugar in a small bowl.

5. Portion the dough into twelve ping-pong sized balls, about 45 grams each. (Note: After portioning the dough, you can refrigerate it in an airtight container for up to 3 days if you’d like extra-thick cookies; when ready to bake, let the dough come to room temperature while you preheat the oven.) Toss each in the sugar sprinkle, coating completely. Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheets about 2½ inches apart.

6. Bake the cookies one sheet at a time until the edges are set and the centers are puffed, about 10 minutes. Rotate the sheet in the oven halfway through baking. Immediately after you remove the pan from the oven, sprinkle with some extra toast crumbs and some flaky salt and, if you’d like, gently press the center down with a spatula — this will yield extra-fudgy centers. (I particularly like doing this for dough that has been chilled overnight or longer.)

7. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store leftovers in an airtight container.

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Currently reading: King Arthur Baking says that everyone is toasting their milk powder now. Longtime readers of the blog will know I’ve been telling you to do this since before it was cool (see black bottom toasted milk banana cream pie, extra-strength CCC, toasted milk ice cream). It’s definitely not my idea, though! The pioneering folks in Ideas in Food were doing this back in 2008 (and they learned it from someone else)! Just goes to show, there’s nothing new under the sun. But I’m glad to see more people exploring this flavor-forward technique.

Currently baking: It’s RFD (rustic fruit dessert) season so I made a twist on my berry streusel bars and a gateau basque with blueberries and rhubarb. And some funfetti rice krispie treats for a picnic!