brown butter and peanut tropical cookies
the ultimate chewy cookie with nutty and fruity flavors
if you don’t know what a tropical cookie is, don’t worry, i didn’t either. i only stumbled upon them as i was developing these cookies because my working recipe title was an inelegant mouthful: brown butter, white chocolate, pineapple, mango and peanut cookies. most tropical cookies integrate dried fruits, coconut, and white chocolate, which, while not a 100% match here, is close enough. if you have a better idea of what these cookies should be called, let me know! okay, on to the good stuff.
born out of my wish to use up some really delicious dried fruits and nuts that were gifted to me, these cookies are studded with dried pineapple, dried mango, white chocolate chunks and peanuts. they’re sweet and salty, nutty and rich, with a subtle, almost juicy edge that really complements their gorgeous chewy texture.
these cookies are an adaptation of a recipe i already knew and loved, and could be adapted further based on what you have on hand and your personal preferences. for example, you could use just one of the dried fruits, experiment with different kinds of chocolate (i actually think a mix of white and bittersweet could be really nice) or stud the tops with macadamias or cashews instead of peanuts.
i would recommend using dried fruits that are on the softer side and relatively easy to bite through straight from the package. if all you can get are dried fruits that are quite hard, chop them into small pieces about the size of a penny before adding to the batter so you don’t end up with cookies that are tough to eat.
makes 12 large cookies; this recipe is an adaptation of sohla el-waylly’s ultimate white chocolate macadamia cookies for nyt cooking
280 grams granulated sugar
170 grams unsalted butter
20 grams milk powder
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 large eggs
240 grams all purpose flour
150 grams white chocolate
50 grams dried pineapple
50 grams dried mango
50 grams toasted, unsalted peanuts (i like the peanuts with the papery red skin still on them, but if you can’t find them, use peeled ones instead)
flaky sea salt
add sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. add butter to a small frying pan (preferably stainless steel or light bottomed pan so you can see the milk solids browning) over medium heat. let the butter melt, then froth, swirling occasionally. once the butter has frothed, add the milk powder and whisk constantly until the milk solids are starting to sink and turn deep golden brown; the whole process should take about 10 minutes. remove from the heat and add to the sugar. stir to combine, and let sit, stirring occasionally until mixer bowl is warm (not hot) to the touch, about 5 minutes.
add vanilla extract, salt, baking powder, baking soda and eggs and mix on medium high speed for about 6 minutes, stopping halfway through to scrape down the sides. while the mixture is mixing, roughly chop the white chocolate, keeping it in relatively large chunks and chop the dried fruit into pieces slightly smaller than bite-size pieces (about the size of a quarter).
remove the bowl from the stand mixer and mix in the flour by hand with a rubber spatula until just about combined, then add in the chocolate and dried fruit and mix until well combined. transfer the dough to a piece of plastic wrap. fold the long edges over the dough and use your hands to gently press and roll the dough into a log about 2 inches (5 cm) in diameter. wrap up the ends tightly then chill in the fridge for at least 12 hours or up to 3 days.
when ready to bake, preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. cut the log with a serrated knife into approximately 75 gram slices then roll into balls. place the peanuts into a bowl and press each dough ball into the peanuts, flattening the ball a bit and making sure the peanuts are secure in the dough; you can also freeze the cookies at this point and bake directly from frozen for 15 - 17 minutes.
place on a baking sheet at least 2 inches (5 cm) apart and sprinkle with flaky sea salt. bake for 13 - 15 minutes, or until the edges are brown and the centers are puffed; i personally prefer them slightly under baked rather than over baked for the best, chewiest texture.
Sounds super interesting!