Brown Butter Cornmeal Sugar Cookies: Soft Roll-Out Recipe with Whiskey and Caramel Notes

These Brown Butter Cornmeal Sugar Cookies are rich, cozy, and just fancy enough—thanks to golden brown butter, a splash of whiskey, and a hint of rustic cornmeal. Perfect for rolling, cutting, and impressing.

Brown Butter Cornmeal Roll-Out Sugar Cookies

Yields: 12 cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup unsalted butter, browned

• 2 tbsp Butterball (brown butter flavor) whiskey (added while browning butter)

• 1 ¾ cups granulated sugar

• ¼ cup brown sugar

• 2 eggs

• 1 tbsp bourbon vanilla paste (Trader Joe’s or substitute)

• 2 tbsp Butterball whiskey (in dough)

• 1 tbsp cornstarch

• 1 tsp salt

• ⅛ tsp baking powder

• 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour

• ½ cup cornmeal

Instructions:

1. Brown the butter in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring frequently until golden and fragrant. Add 2 tbsp Butterball whiskey during browning. Let cool slightly.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the browned butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar. Mix until smooth.

3. Add the eggs, bourbon vanilla paste, and 1–2 tbsp Butterball whiskey to the dough. Mix well.

4. Add the cornstarch, salt, and baking powder. Mix until just combined.

5. Gradually add in the flour and cornmeal until the dough forms.

6. Roll out dough to 10mm (3/8 inch) thickness. Chill for at least 1 hour before cutting.

7. Cut cookies and place directly on baking trays. Freeze tray of cutouts for 2–3 minutes.

8. Bake in a preheated 350°F (175°C) oven for 10–12 minutes or until edges are just set. Do not overbake.

Pro Tip: Pair these cookies with a royal icing flavored with vanilla bean paste and just a touch of whiskey for a complementary finish. The warmth of the whiskey balances beautifully with the corn and brown butter notes. Skip the extract and go for depth.

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Soft, flavorful, and subtly spiked, these Brown Butter Cornmeal Sugar Cookies are the grown-up sugar cookie your fall baking line-up didn’t know it needed.

From baking sheets to cookie tools, shop my must-have supplies here! I feel like you'd especially love my dough sheeter! Looking for more recipes? Check out Cookie Curator's original sugar cookie recipe here! Find more deliciously perfect roll-out sugar cookie recipes on the Cookie Curator blog. For all Cookie Curator tips and tricks on royal icing, check out the highly-rated How to Make Sugar Cookies Course & Course Workbook!