When I go to a cookie exchange party (ok, all of twice now) it's a funny thing that happens to me.  I'm overcome with insecurity.  I'm terrified that my cookies taste like crap.  I'm afraid that I didn't bring enough.  I'm worried that mine don't look good... I know.  Stupid.  What is that about.  I'm sure that everybody feels that way.  Fortunately, the party I went to didn't make it into a contest because that would have been too much stress for me.  There's already enough stress at this time of year... who needs a cookie contest on top of it.  PRESSURE.

Having said all that though, what are the things that I look to make when going to a cookie exchange party?
1.  I think about how many cookies the recipe makes.  Will I have to double it?
2.  I think about how many kinds of cookies I make and therefor how finicky are these cookies going to be to make.
3.  I think about how interesting they are and whether someone else might duplicate the recipe - trust me, it's even worse than someone showing up at a party in the same dress.
And the last thing is...
4.  I think about whether they will taste good and whether they look good (ie. impressive)

On another note, the Toronto Star is doing a Christmas Cookie Advent Calendar this year with a new cookie recipe coming out everyday up to Christmas Day.  It's pretty cool.  I found this recipe in among the teens of December and it caught my interest.
First though I had to go through my checklist....

Re #1 It makes a good amount of cookies
Re#2  It sounded pretty straight forward.
Re#3  'Brown Butter'... sounds exotic!  Who's going to duplicate that?
Re#4  They have icing on them.  Therefor they instantly look better and more impressive (ie.  I spent time throwing a tbsp of icing on the top)
And it was decided... then and there.


Here's talking about the cookies for a minute.  These cookies are cakey... and they totally work.  They are very homey cookies and to be honest, if you have a lot of other things going on they can get a little lost.  I think that these work best with a cuppa in the afternoon and a good book (very little doesn't work well that way though, come to think of it).  I'm just thinking though that up against lemon bars and nanaimo bars and chocolate crackles and crazy sugar cookies and all that crap this little lovely might get lost and it's a shame for that to happen.  I guess what I'm really saying is give these a fair shake on their own, they'll be best appreciated that way... says I.   P.S.  I left the walnuts out b/c I wasn't sure about nut allergies.



Butterscotch Brown Butter Cookies (from the Toronto Star)
makes about 3 dozen cookies

2 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt (coarse or kosher best)
1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1 1/2 cups packed dark brown sugar
2 lg eggs
1 tsp vanilla
250 ml (1 cup) sour cream - 14% only, not 'low-fat'
2/3 cup walnut pieces (optional)

Topping
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3 1/2 cups icing sugar
2 tbsp boiling water
1/2 tsp vanilla

Walnut pieces for garnish (optional)

In a bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Set aside.
Cream together the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy.  Add in the eggs and vanilla and continue to beat until fluffy.  Add in the sour cream and mix well.  Add the flour to the wet mixture and stir until well mixed.
Drop by tbsp's onto the cookie sheets and bake for about 11 min or until the cookies are just browned around the edge.


Remove from oven and cool on cooking racks.
Topping:
Melt and heat butter in a pan at medium heat until it begins to turn golden brown.  Remove from heat and stir in the icing sugar, boiling water and vanilla.
Work quickly to place 1 tsp of the topping onto each cookie.  Let the cookies sit until the frosting sets.