Description
These crème brûlée cookies combine chewy, buttery sugar cookies with rich and creamy vanilla pastry cream, topped with caramelized sugar for a delightful dessert experience. Perfect for those who love the classic flavors of crème brûlée in a fun, portable cookie form.
Ingredients
Scale
Vanilla Pastry Cream
- 2 1/4 cups whole milk (540 ml)
- 6 egg yolks
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp granulated white sugar (225 g)
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tbsp vanilla bean paste
- 3 1/2 tbsp cornstarch (28 g)
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter, cut in cubes (42 g)
Sugar Cookies
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled (313 g)
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/4 cup granulated white sugar (250 g)
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened (224 g)
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp vanilla bean paste
- 1/2 cup granulated white sugar for rolling the dough in (100 g)
- 1/2 cup granulated white sugar for the brûlée topping (100 g)
Instructions
- Heat Milk: In a medium saucepan, heat the milk over medium-low heat just until it’s steaming. Then reduce the heat to low and keep warm until ready to use.
- Prepare Egg Mixture: In a large bowl, whisk together egg yolks, 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, salt, vanilla bean paste, and cornstarch until combined and pale yellow. The mixture will be thick at first but will become smooth as you whisk.
- Temper Eggs: Gradually add 1/4 of the heated milk into the egg mixture while stirring vigorously, then stir in the remaining milk to combine.
- Cook Pastry Cream: Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, whisking continuously for 8 to 12 minutes until thickened and soft peaks form.
- Add Butter and Chill: Remove from heat, stir in cubed butter until smooth. Place plastic wrap directly on the surface to prevent skin formation and chill in the refrigerator until completely cold.
- Preheat Oven and Prepare Baking Sheets: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175 Celsius). Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- Cream Butter and Sugar: Using an electric mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the softened butter with 1 1/4 cup sugar on high speed until fluffy, about two minutes.
- Add Egg and Vanilla: Mix in the egg and vanilla bean paste on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add Dry Ingredients: Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the wet mixture on low speed until the dough just comes together.
- Form Cookies: Scoop dough with a large cookie scoop into balls, then roll each ball in 1/2 cup granulated sugar.
- Arrange and Flatten: Place sugar-coated dough balls on the prepared baking sheets and slightly flatten each ball. Bake six cookies at a time for best spacing.
- Bake Cookies: Bake in the preheated oven for 9 to 10 minutes until edges are lightly golden. Let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Pipe Pastry Cream: Transfer chilled pastry cream to a piping bag fitted with a small round tip. Pipe a generous amount of cream onto each cooled cookie.
- Caramelize Sugar: Sprinkle about 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar over the pastry cream on each cookie. Using a kitchen torch, caramelize the sugar until golden brown and aromatic, resembling roasted marshmallows.
- Cool and Serve: Let the brûléed sugar cool for 10 minutes before serving. Add pastry cream only when ready to serve to keep cookies from becoming soggy.
Notes
- For best results, chill the pastry cream well before piping to ensure it holds shape on the cookies.
- If you don’t have vanilla bean paste, pure vanilla extract can be used but the flavor will be less intense.
- Be careful when caramelizing the sugar with a torch; keep the flame moving to avoid burning the sugar.
- Cookies can become soggy if the pastry cream is added too far in advance, so assemble just before serving.
- You can store baked cookies without cream in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 210 kcal
- Sugar: 18 g
- Sodium: 65 mg
- Fat: 11 g
- Saturated Fat: 6 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 25 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 70 mg
