Brown Butter & Brown Sugar Cupcakes with Cookie Butter Frosting

Similarly to the Chocolate Samoa Donuts I posted last week, I have been dreaming up this cookie butter frosting for a LONG time. I've had a jar sitting half full in my pantry and I knew I wanted to do something with it. I toyed with the idea of cookie butter cookies (instead of peanut butter), I've already made cookie butter truffles. I was in love with the idea of cookie butter frosting, but I didn't know what I wanted to pair it with. I couldn't make up my mind: sandwiched between two cookies, on top of mini chocolate cupcakes, or something else. And then I went with 'something else'.

I knew I wanted to do some sort of brown butter and/or brown sugar cupcake to pair with the gingerbread-esque flavored cookie butter. So, when I saw this Brown Sugar Cupcake recipe on How Sweet It Is, it was almost perfect. I just added brown butter instead of regular old melted butter. Which made these cupcakes OMG amazing. And not too sweet, even WITH the frosting. So if you have friends that aren't big into sweets (um, why?), these cupcakes would be perfect for them.

So I apologize with how long it took me to finally make this frosting a reality but boy is it good. It's not overly sweet and the cookie butter gives a nice spice and almost gingerbread flavor to the frosting. When paired with the cupcake, it's a good balance. The brown sugar means the cupcake also isn't quite as sweet, and the brown butter adds an extra depth of flavor. Because of this? Give them to your friends  immediately otherwise I can guarantee you will eat way more of these than you planned.

Brown Butter Cupcakes with Cookie Butter Frosting

makes about 12 cupcakes

For the Cupcakes:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, browned and cooled.
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup milk

For the Frosting:
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup cookie butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1-3 tbsp milk

To brown butter: In a saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Once melted, whisk butter continuously. Butter will foam and once the foam subsides, brown flecks will start to form on the bottom. Once butter smells nutty and like caramel, and the brown flecks are medium-amber, remove butter from heat. Whisk for 20 more seconds and then transfer to a separate bowl. Let cool to room temperature.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners and set aside.

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together egg and brown sugar until smooth and creamy. Whisk in vanilla and milk to incorporate. Pour in butter and whisk until smooth. Slowly add in dry ingredients, mixing just until everything is combined.

Pour batter into cupcake liners, roughly 1/4 cup, until each well is 3/4 full. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove cupcakes from tin and then let cool completely on wire cooling rack.

While cupcakes cool, prepare frosting. In a large mixing bowl, beat together butter and cookie butter until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Add powdered sugar 1/3 cup at a time, mixing well between addition. With mixer on medium-low speed, add in milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until you reach desired texture. Frost cupcakes however you'd like.

[source: cupcake recipe lightly adapted from How Sweet It Is, frosting recipe a Confectionary Tales original]