Soft Batch Beer and Brown Sugar Cookies
Jackie Dott-Mallory
(Senior Editor)
How do you like your cookies? For me, cookies need to be soft and chewy. Did you know there is a bit of a personality test that goes along with cookie preferences? Here it is:
Chewy: You’re generally flexibly and easy going
Crispy: You like to be in control
Soft center: You tend towards the sentimental
Cakey: You tend to be emotionally sensitive
Flat: You don’t like surprises
Puffy: You tend to be chatty
Actually, I completely made that up. Slow news day over here, forcing me to resort to trickery. Was it true for you? My assessments are based solely on the people I know with those cookie preferences, a fairly small sample that will never meet statistical significance.
Just like the theory I formed about the link between cowboys, their beer preferences and their truck choice:
Coors people like Ford
Budweiser people like Chevy
That theory was formed while growing up on a (Ford, Coors and New Holland) farm. These days I can’t really say I know many people in any of those four camps, but I still maintain that theory has validity.
So what car goes with Russian River?
For this recipe I like an American Brown Ale, something that will kick you a bit more hops than the standard English Brown Ale.
Soft Batch Beer & Brown Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- ¾ cups unsalted butter softened (12 tbs)
- 1 ¼ cups golden brown sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
- ½ tsp vanilla
- 1/3 cup American brown ale
- 1 ¼ cups All purpose flour
- 1 cup bread flour
- 1 ¼ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the butter and brown sugar. Mix on high until very well combined. Add the egg yolk and the vanilla, beat until light and fluff. Add the beer, beat until well combined.
- In a separate bowl, add both kinds of flour (bread flour is used to make chewier cookies), baking soda, baking powder, salt, cornstarch and cinnamon.
- Sprinkle the dry ingredients over the wet ingredients and stir until just combined.
- Using a cookie scoop, scoop out balls of dough slightly smaller than a golf ball onto cookie sheets that have been covered with parchment paper.
- Place the cookies in the fridge to chill for at least 20 minutes (this prevents them from spreading too much during baking).
- Preheat oven to 325.
- Bake at 325 for 12-14 minutes or until the edges just start to turn golden brown (for a puffier cookie bake at 350 for 8 to 10 minutes). Immediately pull the parchment paper off the cookie sheet onto the counter and allow the cookies to cool to room temperature.
Comments
Averie @ Averie Cooks April 23, 2013 um 1:46 am
I love soft-batch cookies. And ones made exclusively with brown sugar. And….beer! Have never had one, but I want to try one now!
Cassie | Bake Your Day April 23, 2013 um 6:03 am
You are too funny! And I love these cookies. Beer and brown sugar…you can’t go wrong!
Happy Valley Chow April 23, 2013 um 7:29 am
Yummy sounds delicious! Never put beer in cookies before, but I do love my beer so why not?!
Happy Blogging!
Happy Valley Chow
Kelly @ Hidden Fruits and Veggies April 23, 2013 um 7:42 am
I’ve never heard of beer in cookies before.. genius!
Tieghan April 23, 2013 um 9:31 am
Beer in cookies! Soft batch cookies!! What and amazing idea! I want these now. They look perfect!
Meagan @ Scarletta Bakes April 23, 2013 um 11:20 am
Love it! I like to talk ALOT so it’s no surprise that I like my cookies puffffffffy. These lovely brown sugar ones are just gems!!!
Ari @ Ari’s Menu April 23, 2013 um 1:38 pm
I’m all about the soft center cookies, and I am totally sentimental. I’d say your assessment is spot on. 😉 Also, with beer and brown sugar, you can’t go wrong!
Kiersten @ Oh My Veggies April 23, 2013 um 4:10 pm
The grocery store I go to sells the thinnest, flattest, crispiest cookies and when I was shopping there the other day, I thought to myself, "Who buys those?! Doesn’t everyone like chewy cookies?" To me, a cookie isn’t even worth eating unless it’s chewy. These look awesome!
Jackie April 26, 2013 um 9:40 am
about a year ago I had a conversation with a chef who said she spent months turning the Compost Cookies into thin cripsy cookies and I thought, "why would you ruin those amazing cookies?" Some people just like it that way, but to me a dry crispy cookie is not worth the calories.
ashley – baker by nature April 23, 2013 um 4:32 pm
Every single time I visit you here my brain goes all "holy s*^t I NEED this in my life". Not good for the waist line… but you only live once, eh?!
Brandon @ Kitchen Konfidence April 23, 2013 um 4:34 pm
Mmm, I love soft and chewy cookies. I guess that makes me flexibly and easy going 🙂 These look pretty darn tasty!
Belinda @themoonblushbaker April 24, 2013 um 9:04 am
how interesting! I would love to try this to see if beer keeps cookies softer than normal.
claire @ the realistic nutritionist April 24, 2013 um 4:12 pm
I just hope you dip your cookies in beer. b/c then you would rock even more than you already do.
Maggie April 26, 2013 um 6:20 am
This sounds marvelous! I may try that blueberry lager I asked you about in these. If I don’t overbake them, I’m sure they’ll be tasty no matter the beer!
April @ The 21st Century Housewife April 30, 2013 um 2:28 am
I’m here via Aunt B’s Facebook page – so pleased to discover this delicious recipe! I love the idea that these cookies have beer in them – as I live in England I think this is a recipe I should definitely try as it is likely to make me very popular 🙂 I’m pinning this one to my Cookies board.
Vane May 9, 2013 um 12:51 pm
This recipe looks amazing. I like chewy cookies, but unfortunately I don’t consider myself to be flexible and easy going. Sadly, I’m more of a crispy control freak!
Aggie May 9, 2013 um 2:37 pm
These are some pretty amazing cookies I have to say. Wow!!
Amanda B June 5, 2013 um 3:44 pm
Fantastic! I made these with a stout and rolled them in a mixture of brown and white sugar before baking, delicious!
Jackie June 5, 2013 um 3:53 pm
That sounds amazing Amanda!
Casey B June 28, 2013 um 8:04 pm
I just made these cookies for a small beerfest among friends and they turned out amazing. I’m going to have to make another batch for myself haha.
Jackie June 28, 2013 um 10:42 pm
So glad you liked those!
Kim September 4, 2013 um 6:35 pm
I love this recipe! My husband and I are hosting a homebrew party and I would love to make these. Do you know how many the recipe yields using a small cookie scoop (approximatly 1 tablespoon)?
Jackie September 4, 2013 um 7:03 pm
I believe around 36 for that size.
Kim September 5, 2013 um 4:02 pm
Thanks Jackie!
Anne January 14, 2014 um 8:09 am
How many cookies does this make?
Jackie January 14, 2014 um 10:49 am
about two dozen
Amber January 20, 2014 um 9:36 am
This recipe looks good but is surprisingly amazing. I made these cookies for a football party yesterday (beer cookies sounded appropriate) and everyone was raving about them. I have to be honest, I also ate some for breakfast this morning- they are that good.
I used Iron Horse’s Irish Death Ale since it was in the ballpark of a brown ale, it seemed to work out pretty well.
Morgan April 1, 2014 um 4:32 pm
I made these for a beer festival and used Founders breakfast stout. OMG they were amazing. They were all gone within the hour.
Jackie April 1, 2014 um 9:51 pm
Oh good! I’m so glad.
Beth September 30, 2017 um 10:09 pm
These are absolutely amazing! Just the right amount of chewy with crisp edges. Mine did spread a little too much on the first batch through the oven, but then I started using less batter (about the size of a walnut) and they were fine. I used Short’s Brewing Company Soft Parade (high gravity rye ale brewed with four kinds of berries), and they were very tasty! Since it was only supposed to make two dozen and I needed to give 3 dozen away, I doubled the recipe… and got 85 cookies. Which works well, as I’ve already eaten a half dozen and the last batch is still cooling.
Virginia May 8, 2018 um 10:49 pm
I have now made these cookies twice. I am in LOVE with the flavor however I don’t know what I am doing wrong because mine spread like crazy no matter how much batter I use, they are not puffy at all. They taste great but I am so disappointed. I have tried cooking at 325 and 350, tried using less batter, made sure my baking powder was good by testing it. Please I could really use some help. I don’t know why these won’t come out right and we love the taste so I just want a fluffier/ chewy cookie, not a paper thin one
Jackie May 9, 2018 um 9:05 am
Did you chill them long enough? That sounds like the issue. Try freezing them for 15 minutes instead of the fridge for 20 minutes as directed, that should fix the issue. You can also try 1/2 bread flour and 1/2 AP flour.