Brown Butter Brown Sugar Shortbread Cookies

We discovered brown butter and we're hooked.  These are awesome cookies.  We made some of them with chocolate chips in them, but I like them plain even better... and of course, I subbed in whole wheat flour.  They do take a while to make, since after you brown the butter, you have to chill it, then make the batter, then chill it.  So, the hands on time is short, but the overall time is a few hours... so worth the wait!

Click here for the original recipe from Smitten Kitchen (a favorite of mine!) or read my ever so slightly modified version below.

Brown Butter Brown Sugar Shorties
Adapted by Smitten Kitchen from Gourmet and ever so slightly further adapted by me

Makes about 32 cookies (if you dont eat the batter!)
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar (preferably dark)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour (mix of white and whole)
1/4 teaspoon salt (flaky salt would be great in these)
a few handful of chocolate chips

Cook butter in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring frequently, until it has a nutty fragrance and flecks on bottom of pan turn a light brown, anywhere from 4 to 7 minutes. It helps to frequently scrape the solids off the bottom of the pan in the last couple minutes to ensure even browning. Transfer butter to a bowl and chill until just firm, about 1 hour.
Beat together butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Beat in vanilla, then mix in flour and salt at low speed until almost combined.  Add in chocolate chips till combined. Transfer dough to a sheet of wax paper or parchment and form into a 12-inch log, 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Chill, wrapped in wax paper, until firm, about 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Unwrap dough and slice dough into 1/4-inch-thick rounds, arranging 1 1/2 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet (I use a siplat). Bake until surface is dry and edges are slightly darker, 10 to 12 minutes. Let sit on sheet for a minute before transferring to a rack to cool. (Cookies will be quite fragile at first, but will firm up as they cool.)