Recipe: Spiced fig and brown butter cookies

Brown butter elevates these amazing spiced fig cookies.

These cookies really need no explanation.

Warm spices, luxurious dried figs, and nutty brown butter - the combination conjures up feelings of luxury.

If you’ve never cooked with brown butter before, then a new door of culinary possibility is about to open!

By simply cooking the butter until the milk solids turn brown, you create the most incredible nutty fragrance and flavour that adds a deep, toasty undertone to any dish.

I love using it in baked goods and desserts, and it’s amazing poured over fish or potatoes. When you’ve made it once, I promise you’ll be repeating it over and over in a variety of ways!

To make these cookies, you will brown your butter first, before chilling it and cutting it to use in the dough.

Brown butter is beautiful with warm spices - I’ve used cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.

Dried figs have an intense and deeply sweet, honey-like flavour, and their soft flesh paired with the crispness of their tiny seeds gives the cookies an interesting bite.

Ingredients

Makes 10

● 100g butter, cubed

● 250g brown sugar

● 1 egg

● 1/2 tsp vanilla

● 150g flour

● 1 1/2 tsp baking powder

● 1/2 tsp salt

● 1/2 tsp cinnamon

● 1/4 tsp ginger

● Pinch nutmeg

● 4 dried figs, chopped

Method

1. Start by making the brown butter. Place the butter in a small saucepan and set over medium heat. Allow the butter to melt and come to a bubble. Cook, whisking frequently, for 5-7 minutes, until the butter is foamy and the milk solids have turned brown and nutty in fragrance. Watch carefully as it can burn easily.

2. Immediately pour into a baking paper-lined container and refrigerate for 30 minutes until set. Cut into cubes and bring to room temperature.

3. In a large bowl, beat the brown butter, egg, sugar and vanilla on high for 3-4 minutes until light and creamy.

4. In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Add to the butter mixture and stir with a wooden spoon to combine. Fold through dried figs.

5. Roll golf ball-sized balls of cookie dough, transfer to a tray or container and set in the freezer for 25 minutes. This prevents them from spreading too much in the oven.

6. Preheat oven to 180C fan-forced. Line two large baking trays with baking paper.

7. Arrange the cookie dough balls on your prepared trays, spacing them generously apart. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until nicely browned and cooked through.

• Olivia Moore and her Taupō business That Green Olive offer recipe development, food photography - in studio or on-location - for restaurants and cafes, recipe video creation and social media content creation. Visit Olivia’s website for more recipes: www.thatgreenolive.com

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