OH MY GOSH LOOK HOW CUTE <3
Sometimes you just need to make your food cute ok? I mean, I have been working in the kitchen almost everyday the whole summer, I needed to make something cute. And oh my goodness lookit how adorable.
Ok, I know some of these are a little cuter then others, but hey not all bears are perfect. And I know these are kind of… rustic. But that adds to their cuteness! Right? Yeah we’ll go with that.
What Makes These Extra Toasty?
There’s something about a cozy, slightly salty, and very buttery cookie that is just the best. These are best served warm, and are usually crispy on the outside and gooey and soft on the inside. So what are we doing to achieve this? There are four main things. First off we have brown butter. I love brown butter and I use it quite frequently because it adds a nice cozy depth. I like using salted butter because it adds a nice contrast to the cookie. Salty + sweet = perfection. The next trick is toasting your oats. These are oatmeal cookies, and after we brown the butter we toast those oats in that same skillet. This also adds a nice depth. Our third trick is adding espresso powder, which compliments the brown butter in the best way. And the final trick is to use malted milk powder. This adds a little more of that saltiness, as well as another really unique flavor that goes so well with everything else.
Describe these Cookies to me
Taste: These are buttery, toasty, and one of the best examples of sweet and salty. We start off with some brown butter, which makes these extra toasty. I like to use salted butter because it deepens the flavors. Other key flavors here are toasted oats, warming espresso powder, sweet brown sugar, and salty malted milk powder. I love the depth malted milk adds to baked goods, and it fits right in with the espresso and brown butter.
Texture: Right out of the oven these cookies have that perfect cookie texture: crispy on the outside, and gooey and soft on the inside. However, we need them to cool down for the decoration. But if you choose not to make these as bears I highly recommend eating them warm. Once they cool down, they are a little chewy but still soft and melt in your mouth. I really wanted to make sure these cookies weren’t dry and chalky, so we’ve got plenty of butter in there to keep these moist.
Ease: These are not too difficult, but not as simple as your classic chocolate chip. We start off by quickly browning the butter, and then toasting the oats. I like to cook the oats in the same pan as the browned butter to help them get a little more toasty. Making the dough is really quick and simple, and it’s made in one bowl with no mixer. Then we chill it for an hour or so to let it firm up. Next comes the shaping, which is simple and requires no special tools (see more in the shaping paragraph). Then we freeze the shaped cookies for 10 minutes before baking them up to prevent over-spreading. After they’ve baked, all that’s left is the decoration. Just melt down some chocolate and pipe on a few simple dots and arches to make a little face.
Why We Love These Cookies
Honestly I could go on and on and on about all of the reasons, but I’ll just list a few.
One Bowl: A one bowl recipe is always greatly appreciated. I mean one bowl means less dishes, so you can get to chowing down on these cookies sooner. You do have to brown the butter and toast the oats in a saucepan, but it’s still only one bowl.
No mixer: Because we are using melted butter (brown butter), this is a no mixer recipe. Just whisk up your wets, pour in the drys, and fold it all up.
No cookie cutter: You don’t have to buy any specific shaping tools for this, just use your hands to bring it together. (more on that bellow)
Simple decoration: Unlike frosted sugar cookies with intricate designs, we are simply using melted chocolate. It’s so much easier to do and, in my opinion, tastes better.
Awesome flavor: Like all good cookies should, these taste amazing. Nutty brown butter, warming toasted oats, bittersweet espresso, and salty malted milk powder. It’s one of the best combos of sweet and salty, and it’s crispy on the outside and gooey on the inside.
Adorable: I feel like this one sort of goes without saying.
The Shaping
Here’s where I had some troubles when writing this recipe. The first go round they held their shape perfectly and were adorable little bears. But they were too thick and dry. The next attempt they had great flavor but they were thin and greasy, and didn’t keep their shape. The final attempt I made two big changes. The first was that I only used 3/4 cup of butter instead of 1 cup and I decided to freeze the shaped cookies for 10 minutes before baking. That’ll do the trick! So how do we shape these cookies? Well you start with a tablespoon of dough, and you roll that into a ball. Then, take 2 roughly 1/2 teaspoon sized balls of dough and stick them on the top of the dough ball to make little ears. I like to use my hands to shape the ears to stick out a little more so they don’t disappear in the oven. Right after the cookies come out of the oven, I use a toothpick to re-shape the ears to.
The Decorations
This is the part where these bears really start to come together. Before we pipe on the chocolate features, the cookies may just sort of look like blobs. But chocolate is here to save the day! I tried to keep it pretty simple. I do two little arches on the ears, two little dots for eyes, another dot for the nose, and two backwards J’s for the mouth. Simple and quick, yet adorably affective.
Extra Toasty Bear Cookies
Ingredients
Method
- Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Once melted, it will begin to bubble, sizzle, and foam. Eventually you will see specks of brown forming. Let those specks get to a nice amber color, but watch out because it can burn quickly! Pour the brown butter into a large mixing bowl and set it in the fridge to cool down while we toast the oats. Leave a little butter in the pan for toasting the oats, about a Tablespoon or so.
- To the same skillet, add the oats and toast for 3-5 minutes, carefully tossing frequently to prevent burning. You are looking for a nice light brown on the oats. Once toasted, pour into a bowl and set aside. Make sure both the butter and the oats have cooled down enough so that when you touch it, it shouldn't hurt your hand.
- To the slightly cooled down brown butter, add the brown sugar, eggs, espresso powder, and vanilla extract and whisk until smooth. Add the flour, malted milk powder, baking soda, and toasted oats and fold it together using a large spatula. It may take a minute to come together, but it will form a thick and sticky dough. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let it chill in the refrigerator for at 1 hour.
- Line a 2 large baking sheeat with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Roll roughly one Tablespoon of dough into a ball. Place on the prepared baking sheet and attach two roughly ½ teaspoon sized balls on the sides towards the top of the cookie dough ball for the ears. Repeat with the rest of the dough, placing the bear shaped cookies about 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. If you don't want the cookies to be bear shaped then you can just roll them into Tablespoon sized balls.
- Freeze the shaped cookies for 10 minutes before baking. While they freeze, preheat the oven to 350℉.
- Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes or until golden around the edges, but still a little soft in the middle. Mine usually take about 10 minutes, but oven time can vary. Let the cookies cool on a wire rack for about 10-20 minutes before decorating with chocolate.
- Place the chopped chocolate in a small microwave safe bowl and melt in the microwave in 30 second increments until smooth and completely melted. Let the chocolate cool down for about 5 minutes.
- Pour the slightly cooled melted chocolate into a small piping bag fitted with a very small round tip (I use wilton #4). Pipe 2 arches on the ears, 2 dots for eyes, a dot for a nose, and 2 backwards J's for a muzzle (see pictures for reference).
- Enjoy immediately, or let the chocolate harden before storing the cookies in an airtight container for up to a week.