Brown Butter Cinnamon Roll Cookie Bars

These brown butter cinnamon roll cookie bars are thick, chewy, and swirled with a rich cinnamon sugar filling, then finished with a smooth cream cheese glaze. They deliver all the cozy flavor of a cinnamon roll in an easy, bakery-style cookie bar.

Author: Browndis

Meal Type: Peanuts Free

Cuisine: American

Difficulty: MEDIUM

Prep. Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 26 minutes

Total Time: 51 minutes

Servings: 12 serving

Calories: 263 kcal per serving

Ingredients

10 tablespoons - unsalted butter that will be browned
1 tbsp - milk powder
¾ cup - light brown sugar
¼ cup - granulated sugar
1 - egg
1 - egg yolk
1 tbsp - vanilla extract
2 cups - all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons - cornstarch
½ tsp - baking soda
¼ tsp - baking powder
½ tsp - salt
2 tablespoons - unsalted butter that will be browned
¼ cup - dark brown sugar
1 tbsp - ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons - all purpose flour
1 pinch - salt
1 oz - cream cheese
⅓ cup - powdered sugar
¼ tsp - vanilla extract
1 tbsp - milk
1 pinch - salt

Instructions

Cut the butter into chunks and place it in the pan over medium heat (preferably a light colored pan). As it melts, you’ll see it foam and bubble keep stirring or swirling the pan every few seconds. After 4–6 minutes, you’ll see brown bits (milk solids) forming at the bottom and the butter will smell nutty, like toasted hazelnuts. As soon as it turns golden brown (not dark brown!), remove it from the heat. Pour into a heatproof bowl, making sure to scrape all the brown bits from the bottom that’s where the flavor is. Let cool for 10 minutes before using in the dough. If you wan you can brown the butter from the cookie dough batter and for the filling.
While the brown butter for the cookie dough batter is cooling, in a separate small bowl, stir together the brown butter for the filling, brown sugar, cinnamon, flour, and a pinch of salt.
It should look like a thick paste, not runny. If it’s too loose, add an extra pinch of flour.
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the cooled browned butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until smooth.
Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract. Whisk until combined and creamy.
In another bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
Gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet mixture using a spatula until just combined. Don’t overmix this keeps your cookies soft.
Using half of the cinnamon filling drop small spoonfuls all over the top of the cookie dough, don’t dump it all in one spot. This helps the filling spread more evenly. Using a spatula or wooden spoon, fold the dough one side of the dough over and drop the rest of the cinnamon filling over the top of the cookie dough.
With a large ice cream or cookie scoop, scoop out cookie dough onto the lined pan and spread out evenly with an off set or silicone spatula.
Bake for 22–26 minutes until the edges are set and lightly golden, and the center is just slightly underbaked. Let the bars cool in the pan for at least one hour. They will continue to set as they cool.
In a separate bowl make the glaze by whisking all the ingredients in the cream cheese glaze. Add additional milk 1 tsp at atime to thin it out to your desired consistency. Glaze over completely cooled bars.

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