Confession: When Harry Potter first came out, I wasn’t the biggest fan. To be fair, I was maybe ten-years-old and completely refused to even give the series a chance. I received the first two books for Christmas and didn’t touch them for months. It was only when my uncle decided to make a bet with me–that he could finish reading the first book before me. Now, as a competitive person, I naturally spent the next day reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (or Philosopher’s Stone) and called him up at the end of the night to let him know I finished. Not long after that, I consumed Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. However, my love and obsession with the story and the characters didn’t truly begin until Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
These cookies are a bit of an homage to my favorite book in the series. POA is when we first discover Butterbeer, and as Harry Potter’s birthday is two weeks away, there seemed like no better way to celebrate than by making a batch of these Butterbeer Cookies.
Originally, I wanted to find a way to incorporate the flavor of cream soda into these cookies. It was something that would have required buying an $8-$9 bottle of cream soda extract. Instead, these use a little extra vanilla to try and mimic that flavor, brown butter and imitation butter to enhance the slightly nutty, buttery flavor, and a hint of rum extract. Butterbeer does cause house elves to get drunk, after all.
I think the greatest magic of all is that this series continues to live on. My friend Kathleen has already taught her two-year-old son to love Harry and his friends (which is precious and adorable and obviously doing parenthood right)! Harry Potter and the Cursed Child just won the Tony award last month for Best Play. The love is strong. As the Boy-Who-Lived survived Voldemort’s attack, the series will survive the test of time.
So why not take a trip to Hogsmeade and raise a cookie to Harry in honor of his birthday and enjoy a bite of magic? You’re never too old to revisit Hogwarts.
| Cook Time | 15-18 minutes |
| Servings |
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- 1/2 cup brown butter
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg large
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp imitation butter
- 1/2 tsp rum extract
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup butterscotch chips
- 1/2 cup English toffee bits
Ingredients
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- Brown the butter: Cut your butter evenly into cubes and line them on the bottom of a medium saucepan. Over medium heat, melt the butter. Allow it to bubble and foam for about five minutes, stirring occasionally with a spatula to keep the heat evenly distributed and to keep the milk solids from sticking to the bottom of the pan. After five minutes, remove the pan from the heat and swirl for 15 seconds. It should start to smell a bit nutty and the color of the butter will be noticeably darker. Pour the butter into a small bowl or ramekin and stick in the freezer for ten minutes to keep it from browning any further.
- While the butter is cooling, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or with a hand mixer, beat together your brown butter and sugars until fluffy. The butter will want to stick to the sides of the bowl--just use a spatula to scrape it off.
- Add the egg and beat until fully combined. Then add the vanilla, imitation butter, and rum extract. Mix until fully combined.
- Add the dry ingredients, half at a time, mixing until the dough begins to come together. Fold in the butterscotch chips and toffee bits. Chill the dough for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 325°F and line a baking sheet or two with parchment paper. Using a large ice cream scoop, drop the cookies onto the prepared sheet and bake 15-18 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool about 3-5 minutes before transferring over to a cooling rack.