When it comes to cookies, I’m a chocolate chip gal. That said, I’ve always had a soft spot for sugar cookies with M&Ms. Specifically the ones from Mrs. Fields. Like a true 90s kid, I spent a lot of my childhood at the mall. And Mrs. Fields was my absolute favorite mall treat. The cookie cups were my main pick, but those M&M sugar cookies were a close second. They were buttery, chewy, and oh so chocolatey. With Easter just around the corner, I thought it’d be fun to create a similar cookie but with Cadbury Mini Eggs instead of M&Ms! And let me tell you, they are excellent. Like, wow. I might need to make these for every holiday and just swap in appropriately themed candies.
So what’s so great about these sugar cookies?
I’m glad you asked! Apart from the Cadbury Mini Eggs (which were a brilliant addition, if I may say so myself), what makes these cookies special is the brown butter. Brown butter is essentially regular butter that’s been slowly melted in a pan, caramelizing it and giving it a richer, sweeter, nuttier flavor. It’s bomb. I’m a big fan of adding it to baked goods and pouring it all over pasta. Seriously – try using it as a sauce for these chai spiced butternut squash and goat cheese ravioli. It’s a game changer. But I digress. Using brown butter instead of regular butter in these cookies gave them a richer, more complex flavor. I’ll probably never make sugar cookies any other way!
Can I make these if it’s not Easter?
You sure can! I’m in love with how the Cadbury Mini Eggs enriched this recipe, but M&Ms or another candy coated chocolate would do just fine here! Just note that if you’re using a smaller candy like M&Ms you don’t need to bother chopping it. I’m also thinking of making these with candy corn once Halloween rolls around, but that’s a post for another day. Point is, there’s no harm in getting creative!
The Best Brown Butter Sugar Cookies with Cadbury Mini Eggs
Ingredients
- 8 oz Butter 226.8g (unsalted)
- 1 3/4 cup Granulated sugar 347g
- 1 Large egg
- 1 Large egg yolk
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- 2 cups All purpose flour 240g
- 1 tsp Baking soda 6g
- 1/2 tsp Salt 3g
- 8 oz Cadbury Mini Eggs 226.8g
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit. Line a large pan with parchment paper or your favorite baking mat.
- Brown your butter. To do this, place the butter in a small pan over medium low heat. Let this go for a few minutes, or until it reaches a deep amber hue. You’ll see it slowly start to brown throughout this process. When it's done, remove it from heat and set it aside to cool.
- While the butter cools, add the flour, baking soda, and salt to a medium sized bowl and whisk to combine. Now is also a good time to chop half the Cadbury Mini Eggs. Set these to the side once you're done.
- Cream together the brown butter and sugar. I like to use a stand mixer for this, but using a hand mixer or whisk will work, too. Add in one egg, plus the yolk of another egg, and the vanilla extract.
- Add the flour mixture to the wet one and mix just until combined, being careful not to overmix.
- Fold in the chopped Cadbury Mini Eggs and scoop dough into balls (I used a medium sized cookie scoop, which is equivelant to about 3 tbsp). Press a couple of the remaining Cadbury Mini Eggs into each of the dough balls for a super cute and festive look.
- Place 6-9 cookies equidistant on your lined pan (depending on the size of the pan) and bake for 12-14 minutes. They'll still seem a bit raw when you pull them out but that's perfectly fine! When you take them out, slam them down onto your stove or counter top to knock the air out of them. Let cool for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Repeat with the rest of the dough until it's all gone!
And that’s it! Despite the recipe being 7 whole steps, these are pretty easy to throw together. The browning of the butter is the most labor intensive part, but I promise you it is worth it. If you make these, let me know in the comments or on Instagram! I always love hearing from you! Oh, and by the way – this is also an awesome way to use up extra Easter candy if you don’t have time to squeeze them in before Sunday.
Looking for more fun Springy treats? Try these grapefruit bars with pink peppercorn or these cardamom Linzer cookies with raspberry rose jam!
