Hojicha Brown Butter Cookies (Printable)

Nutty brown butter and roasted hojicha blend for perfectly crisp, chewy cookies with a warm aroma.

# Ingredient List:

→ Dry Ingredients

01 - 2 cups all-purpose flour
02 - 2 tablespoons hojicha powder
03 - 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
04 - 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

→ Wet Ingredients

05 - 3/4 cup unsalted butter
06 - 1 cup packed brown sugar
07 - 1/4 cup granulated sugar
08 - 1 large egg at room temperature
09 - 1 egg yolk at room temperature
10 - 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

# Directions:

01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
02 - In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Continue cooking while stirring frequently until butter foams and turns golden brown with a nutty aroma, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and cool for 10 minutes.
03 - In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, hojicha powder, baking soda, and salt.
04 - In a large bowl, combine browned butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Whisk until smooth. Add egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract, mixing until fully incorporated.
05 - Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Stir until just combined without overmixing.
06 - Scoop tablespoon-sized mounds of dough onto prepared baking sheets, spacing them approximately 2 inches apart.
07 - Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until edges are golden and centers remain soft.
08 - Let cookies cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • The butter transforms into something almost unrecognizable—nutty, complex, genuinely better than any shortbread I've made before.
  • Hojicha gives you caramel notes without any actual caramel, so there's zero guesswork about tempering or crystallizing.
  • They're crispy-edged and chewy-centered, which means they're forgiving if you pull them out a minute early or late.
02 -
  • Brown butter can go from golden to burnt in seconds once it hits the right color, so watch it constantly and remove it the moment it smells nutty and looks amber, not deep brown.
  • Don't skip cooling the brown butter—if you pour hot butter into your sugars, the eggs will cook and you'll end up with scrambled cookie dough instead of smooth, creamy texture.
03 -
  • Chill your dough for 30 minutes before baking if you want thicker, chewier cookies with less spread—warm dough spreads immediately and bakes faster.
  • Store these in an airtight container with a piece of bread to keep them soft, or leave them uncovered for crispier edges.
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