Creme Brûlée Cookies

These Crème Brûlée Cookies are a decadent treat combining chewy, buttery sugar cookies with a rich vanilla pastry cream topping. The finishing touch is the caramelized sugar topping, which creates the signature crackly crust of crème brûlée. These cookies offer the perfect balance of soft cookie texture, creamy filling, and crispy caramelized sugar, making them an irresistible dessert!

Ingredients

• For the Vanilla Pastry Cream:
  
  

  • 2 ¼ cups whole milk
    
    

  • 6 egg yolks
    
    

  • 1 cup + 2 tbsp granulated white sugar
    
    

  • 1/8 tsp salt
    
    

  • 1 ½ tbsp vanilla bean paste
    
    

  • 3 ½ tbsp cornstarch
    
    

  • 3 tbsp unsalted butter (cut into cubes)
    
    

• For the Sugar Cookies:
  
  

  • 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
    
    

  • ½ tsp baking powder
    
    

  • ½ tsp salt
    
    

  • 1 ¼ cups granulated white sugar
    
    

  • 1 cup unsalted butter (softened)
    
    

  • 1 egg
    
    

  • 1 tbsp vanilla bean paste
    
    

  • ½ cup granulated white sugar (for rolling dough in)
    
    

  • ½ cup granulated white sugar (for brûlée topping)
    
    

Directions

1. Make the Vanilla Pastry Cream: In a medium saucepan, heat the milk over medium-low heat until steaming. In a separate bowl, whisk together egg yolks, sugar, salt, vanilla bean paste, and cornstarch until smooth. Gradually add about ¼ of the heated milk to the egg mixture while stirring. Add the remaining milk and stir to combine. Transfer to the saucepan and cook over medium-low heat for 8-12 minutes until thick and soft peaks form. Remove from heat, stir in butter, and place plastic wrap directly on top to prevent a skin from forming. Chill the pastry cream until cold.
   
   

2. Make the Sugar Cookie Dough: Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. Cream together butter and sugar until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg and vanilla bean paste, mixing until pale and fluffy. Gradually add dry ingredients and mix until the dough pulls together.
   
   

3. Form the Cookies: Scoop the dough into balls using a large cookie scoop. Roll each dough ball in granulated sugar and place on parchment-lined cookie sheets. Flatten slightly and bake for 9-10 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
   
   

4. Assemble the Cookies: Once the cookies are cool, pipe the pastry cream on top of each cookie. Sprinkle about 1 teaspoon of sugar on top of each and use a kitchen torch to brûlée the sugar until golden brown. Allow cookies to cool for 10 minutes before serving.
   
   

Nutritional Value (per cookie)

• Calories: 215 kcal
  
  

• Carbohydrates: 28g
  
  

• Protein: 2g
  
  

• Fat: 11g
  
  

• Saturated Fat: 7g
  
  

• Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.5g
  
  

• Monounsaturated Fat: 3g
  
  

• Sodium: 70mg
  
  

• Potassium: 30mg
  
  

• Fiber: 1g
  
  

• Sugar: 15g
  
  

• Vitamin A: 90 IU
  
  

• Vitamin C: 0mg
  
  

• Calcium: 15mg
  
  

• Iron: 1mg