Crème Brûlée Cookies
These cookies layer a soft, pale sugar cookie with a thick dome of vanilla pastry cream and a thin caramelized crust that cracks when tapped. This version uses cooked pastry cream for a custard-like topping, while a kitchen torch browns the sugar without heating the cream as broadly as a broiler would.
Make the cookies and cream ahead, then bring them together shortly before serving. Sugar absorbs moisture from the cream, so the tops are at their crispest soon after torching. The recipe makes about 16 cookies and takes about 3 hours, including chilling and cooling.
Ingredients for Crème Brûlée Cookies
For the cookies
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (270g)
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened (170g)
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar (150g)
- 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar (50g)
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
For the vanilla pastry cream
- 2 cups whole milk (480g)
- 4 large egg yolks
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar (100g)
- 1/4 cup cornstarch (30g)
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (30g)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the brûléed tops
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar (65g), about 1 teaspoon per cookie
How to Make Crème Brûlée Cookies
- Cook the pastry cream: Whisk the egg yolks, pastry cream sugar, and cornstarch until smooth. Warm the milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Gradually whisk some warm milk into the yolk mixture, then pour everything back into the saucepan. Whisk continuously over medium heat until thick and bubbling; cook briefly while whisking. Remove from the heat and stir in the pastry cream butter and vanilla. The cream should mound on a spoon rather than run off it.
- Chill the cream: Spread it in a shallow container and press wrap directly against its surface. Refrigerate until cold throughout, about 2 hours. Stir briefly before using to smooth it, but do not thin it.
- Mix the dough: Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) with a rack near the center. Line baking sheets with parchment. Cream the cookie butter with both cookie sugars. Mix in the egg and cookie vanilla, then add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix just until no dry flour remains.
- Bake the cookies: Scoop about 2 tablespoons of dough per cookie, spacing portions 2 inches apart. If the dough is too soft to hold its shape, refrigerate it for 15 to 20 minutes. Bake uncovered in batches for 9 to 11 minutes per sheet, checking at 9 minutes. Remove the cookies when the edges are set and barely golden but the centers are still pale and soft. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
- Add the cream: Shortly before serving, spoon or pipe about 2 tablespoons of cold pastry cream onto each cooled cookie. Form a thick, rounded layer that leaves a narrow rim of cookie visible.
- Torch and serve: Work with a few cookies at a time on a heatproof sheet pan, away from parchment overhang and other flammable items. Sprinkle about 1 teaspoon granulated sugar evenly over each cream dome and torch immediately, keeping the flame moving. Stop when the sugar bubbles and turns glossy amber with scattered darker spots. Let the crust harden briefly before serving.
Getting a Thick, Smooth Pastry Cream Layer
Whisk continuously as the cream thickens to prevent lumps. It needs to be fully thickened on the stove, then chilled until it holds a mound; stirring should smooth it, not make it runny. If a topped cookie slumps, check that the cream is cold and the cookie has no residual warmth. Lingering with the torch in one spot can loosen the cream, too.
How to Keep the Brûléed Tops Crackly
Keep the sugar off the cream until the torch is ready. Sugar left on the moist topping can dissolve before it browns. Sprinkle and torch a few cookies at a time, let the crust set, and serve soon afterward. Do not use a broiler for these cream-topped cookies; its broad heat can melt the cream before the sugar caramelizes.
Make-Ahead and Storage
Store plain, cooled cookies airtight at room temperature for a few days. Keep the pastry cream covered in the refrigerator and use it within 3 days. Assemble and torch near serving rather than storing the finished cookies for their crisp texture.
Plain baked cookies can be frozen, tightly wrapped, for up to 3 months; thaw them before topping. Refrigerate leftover assembled cookies promptly in an airtight container, but expect the crust to soften. Do not reheat cream-topped cookies.
For another caramel-topped treat, try these caramel apple cookies.
Nutrition
Approximate per cookie, based on 16 cookies: 290 calories, 4g protein, 13g fat, and 39g carbohydrates. Approximate per 100g of finished cookies: 330 calories, 4g protein, 15g fat, and 45g carbohydrates. Values vary with portion size and the amount of pastry cream used.
Equipment
- Medium saucepan
- Whisk
- Shallow container
- Baking sheets
- Parchment paper
- Cookie scoop
- Kitchen torch
- Heatproof sheet pan
Ingredients
For the cookies
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (270 g)
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened (170 g)
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar (150 g)
- 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar (50 g)
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
For the vanilla pastry cream
- 2 cups whole milk (480 g)
- 4 large egg yolks
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar (100 g)
- 1/4 cup cornstarch (30 g)
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (30 g)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the brûléed tops
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar (65 g), about 1 teaspoon per cookie
Instructions
- Whisk the egg yolks, pastry cream sugar, and cornstarch until smooth.
- Warm the milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
- Gradually whisk some warm milk into the yolk mixture, then pour the mixture back into the saucepan.
- Whisk continuously over medium heat until thick and bubbling; cook briefly while whisking.
- Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the pastry cream butter and vanilla.
- Spread the pastry cream in a shallow container and press plastic wrap directly onto its surface. Refrigerate until cold throughout, about 2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) with a rack near the center. Line baking sheets with parchment.
- Cream the cookie butter with both cookie sugars. Mix in the egg and cookie vanilla.
- Add the flour, baking soda, and salt, and mix just until no dry flour remains.
- Scoop about 2 tablespoons of dough per cookie and space portions 2 inches apart. If the dough is too soft to hold its shape, refrigerate it for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Bake in batches for 9 to 11 minutes per sheet, checking at 9 minutes. Remove when the edges are set and barely golden and the centers are pale and soft.
- Cool the cookies completely, about 30 minutes.
- Briefly stir the cold pastry cream to smooth it. Spoon or pipe about 2 tablespoons onto each cookie, making a thick rounded layer with a narrow rim of cookie visible.
- Place a few cookies at a time on a heatproof sheet pan, away from parchment overhang and other flammable items.
- Sprinkle about 1 teaspoon of sugar evenly over each cream dome and torch immediately, keeping the flame moving, until the sugar bubbles and turns glossy amber with scattered darker spots.
- Let the sugar crust harden briefly before serving.
Tips
- Whisk the pastry cream continuously as it thickens to prevent lumps.
- Cook the pastry cream until it holds a mound, then chill it until cold before topping the cookies.
- Keep sugar off the pastry cream until the torch is ready so it does not dissolve.
- Torch only a few cookies at a time and keep the flame moving to avoid loosening the cream.
- Use a kitchen torch rather than a broiler, which can heat the cream too broadly.