These brown butter maple sandwich cookies are light, buttery and filled with a creamy maple buttercream filling! They're an easy, delicious fall dessert!
Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the room temp brown butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy.
Then add in the maple syrup and egg yolk and mix until smooth.
Fold in the flour, almond flour, and salt until just combined.
Press the dough into a disc and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm (2 hours minimum but ideally overnight).
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough ¼ inch thick. Generously flour the top of the dough and your cookie stamps, then stamp your designs close together on top of the dough. Use a round cookie cutter to cut out around the stamped dough.
Place cutout cookies 1-2 inches apart on your baking sheet (they won’t spread much).
Place the baking sheet in the freezer for a minimum of 20 minutes (or the fridge for 40 minutes) before baking to allow the cookies to firm back up. This ensures the cookies won't spread during baking.
While the cookies are chilling, preheat your oven to 350°F.
Bake for 9-11 minutes or until the edges are set and just starting to brown. Bake on the middle rack of the oven and rotate the pan halfway through baking for the best results.
Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes, then remove and let them finish cooling on a cooling rack.
Let the cookies cool completely before filling.
Maple Buttercream
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the softened brown butter, powdered sugar, cinnamon, and salt until smooth and creamy.
Slowly add in the maple syrup until fully combined. Beat the buttercream for 3-4 minutes on high speed until light and fluffy.
If desired, transfer the buttercream to a piping bag fitted with a large tip and then pipe onto the back of a cooled cookie (you can also just take a spoon and spread some on there). Then top with a second cookie and enjoy!
Notes
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
You can also freeze the cookie dough for up to 3 months. If frozen, allow the dough to thaw overnight in the refrigerator before rolling baking.
Brown the butter: In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Once melted, stir frequently and watch closely for the formation of brown specs on the bottom of the pan and a nutty aroma. Once you see brown specs, stir for just a few more seconds (it browns super quickly). Remove from the heat and immediately pour into a different bowl to prevent it from burning. Let cool to room temperature. I recommend making the brown butter the night before you make the cookies, so that it has time to fully cool to room temperature! Note: For every ½ cup (1 stick or 113g), you'll lose about 1 tablespoon (14g) to evaporation while cooking. So you can either add in an extra 1 tablespoon before browning, or if you're browning big batches, just make up the weight difference in your recipe with regular unsalted butter if needed.