• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Joy the Baker
Joy the Baker
  • New Magazine!
  • Bread
  • Cookies
  • Cakes
  • Pies
  • Recipes
    • All Recipes
    • Biscuits
    • Muffins
    • Cupcakes
    • Drinks
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch
    • Dinner
    • Fruit
    • Nuts
    • Buttermilk
    • Chocolate
    • Vanilla
    • Holiday
    • Healthy
    • Gluten-Free
    • Vegan
  • Blog
    • Baking 101
    • Tips
    • Beyond the Kitchen
    • Let It Be Sunday!
    • New Orleans

Grapefruit White Chocolate Brown Butter Cookies

December 27, 2014 by Joy the Baker 51 Comments

Jump to Recipe

Grapefruit White Chocolate Brown Butter Cookies

[W]ell, hello. Hi. How are you? Glad tidings. Happy Holidays. I like your hair.

Are you doing all of the lovely winter things? Hot chocolate? Mittens? Ski caps? Snow men?

I’d like to bring you stories of frolicking snowball fights and ski lift passes, but I’m terrified of both flying ice balls and ski lifts. Instead I could tell you about this tremendous head cold and how I’m trying to drown it in ginger tea and cookies.

White Chocolate and grapefruit. Let’s stay on our toes and in the game!

Grapefruit White Chocolate Brown Butter Cookies

The thing is, we’ve got to get all the tasty goodness of juicy pink grapefruits into these cookies without the actual juice of the juicy pink grapefruit… you know what I mean?  

Zest is the answer. All the intense flavor, none of the juice to dilute our cookies.

To work this magic, we rub together grapefruit zest and granulated sugar.  Rub with either the back of a spoon or your fingers to release the oils (and thereby the flavor of grapefruit) into the sugar.  

Grapefruit White Chocolate Brown Butter Cookies

Grapefruit sugar is creamed with softened butter until fluffy.  As an added bonus, this also smells divine.  

Grapefruit White Chocolate Brown Butter Cookies

Brown sugar and cooled brown butter are added to the fluffy butter.  Combined.  Good and plenty.  

Grapefruit White Chocolate Brown Butter Cookies

Large eggs: one whole plus one yolk.  

Oh!  I used electric hand-beaters for this recipe which I just recently incorporated into my kitchen.  What took me so long?  They’re kinda the best! 

Grapefruit White Chocolate Brown Butter Cookies

Flour, baking soda, and salt.  The usual and essential suspects.  

I like to use a wooden spoon for this part of cookie making.  A wooden spoon usually prevents a flour explosion.  Usually. 

Grapefruit White Chocolate Brown Butter Cookies

White chocolate chips.  An ample amount.  

The cookie dough needs to rest in the refrigerator for an hour.  This is a critical time in which the butter will chill, absorb the liquid from the eggs, generally relax, and we’ll have an hour to test our willpower and patience. 

Grapefruit White Chocolate Brown Butter Cookies

Because I am so utterly predictable, I topped each cookie dough ball with a sprinkling of coarse sea salt before baking.  I love to balance the sweetness of the cookie and white chocolate with a pinch of salt.  

The grapefruit really shines through in these cookies.  Present, delicate, with unflinching eye contact… like quite the lady.  

Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon

Grapefruit White Chocolate Brown Butter Cookies

  • Author: Joy the Baker
  • Prep Time: 80
  • Cook Time: 12
  • Total Time: 1 hour 32 minutes
Pin Recipe
Print Recipe

Description

Sweet cookies flavored with zippy grapefruit zest. Crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside. Exactly just right!


Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 cup (16 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons grapefruit zest
  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips

Instructions

  1. Place half the butter (8 tablespoons) in a medium skillet. Melt the butter over medium heat, swirling it in the pan occasionally. It’ll foam and froth as it cooks, and start to crackle and pop. Once the crackling stops, keep a close eye on the melted butter, continuing to swirl the pan often. The butter will start to smell nutty, and brown bits will form in the bottom. Once the bits are amber brown (about 2 1/2 to 3 minutes or so after the sizzling stops), remove the butter from the burner and immediately pour it into a small bowl, bits and all. This will stop the butter from cooking and burning. Allow it to cool for 20 minutes.
  2. In a small bowl, rub together the granulated sugar and grapefruit zest until the sugar is fragrant.
  3. Beat the remaining 8 tablespoons softened butter with the grapefruit granulated sugar for 3 to 5 minutes, until the mixture is very smooth.
  4. Beat in the vanilla extract.
  5. Pour the cooled brown butter into the bowl, along with the brown sugar. Beat for 2 minutes, until smooth; the mixture will lighten in color and become fluffy.
  6. Add the egg and egg yolk, and beat for one minute more.
  7. Add the flour, salt, and baking soda, beating on low speed just until everything is incorporated.
  8. Use a spatula to fold in the white chocolate chips and pecans and finish incorporating all of the dry flour bits into the dough.
  9. Scoop the dough onto a piece of parchment paper, waxed paper, or plastic wrap. Flatten it slightly into a thick disk, and refrigerate for at leas t1 hour. About 15 minutes before you’re ready to begin baking, place racks in the center and upper third of the oven and preheat your oven to 350°F.
  10. Scoop the dough in 2 tablespoon-sized balls onto the prepared baking sheets. Leave about 2? between the cookies; they’ll spread as they bake.
  11. Sprinkle the cookies with sea salt, to taste — as much or as little as you like.
  12. Bake the cookies for 12 to 15 minutes, until they’re golden brown. Remove them from the oven, and allow them to rest on the baking sheet for at least 5 minutes before moving them.
  13. Serve warm; or cool completely, and store airtight at room temperature for several days. For longer storage, wrap well and freeze.

Did you make this recipe?

Share a photo and tag us — we can't wait to see what you've made!

Previous PostNext Post

Filed Under: Chocolate, Cookies, Recipes, Vanilla

Previous Post: « Eggnog Rice Pudding
Next Post: »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Axel

    December 8, 2018 at 5:23 am

    I’ve made these twice. First time i just followed the recipe. Second time i switched the grape fruit zest to lime zest wich was awsome. Now I’m making them again but going a bit wild and using orange zest and adding saffron for a more luxurious touch. Can’t wait to see the end result!

    Reply
  2. Audrey Hirschl

    August 1, 2016 at 8:41 am

    Hi Joy! Quick question for you–would it be okay to freeze the dough for baking later? I can’t get enough of these cookies and would love to make a few batches at once for later cooking. Thank you! :)

    Reply
    • joythebaker

      August 1, 2016 at 8:44 am

      Yes that would be perfectly fine!

      Reply
« Older Comments
Comments Page 4 of 4
« Previous 1 2 3 4

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe rating ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

RELATED POSTS IN Chocolate

scoops of ice cream in loaf pan with cones around.
No-Churn Black and White Brownie Ice Cream

This post is sponsored by ALDI! Thank you for supporting the brands that make Joy the Baker possible!  It is ICE CREAM SEASON! (A statement worth shouting from the rooftops) and I have the best-kept secret to beat the heat.   I’ve never really been great with secrets anyway which is why we’re all making the…

Read More

Two huge small-batch chocolate chip cookies.
A Recipe For Just Two Giant Chocolate Chip Cookies

I accidentally went down a rabbit hole a few weeks back.  One afternoon, in a sweet tooth induced mania, I made a small batch of truly giant chocolate chip cookies. The cookie dough came together in a small saucepan, the chocolate almost too melty, and the cookies about the size of my literal face. They…

Read More

sliced chocolate and peanut butter brownies
How To Make Box Brownies Better

I hope we’ve built enough trust between us for you to believe what I’m about to tell you. It’s a secret that professional bakers have been keeping from you for too long.  The truth is BOX BROWNIES ARE BETTER THAN BROWNIES MADE FROM SCRATCH.  I know… criminal, really but facts are facts.  I think it’s…

Read More

Primary Sidebar

Fresh baked emails, delivered to your inbox

Jump to Recipe

Receive recipes from Joy the Baker and updates on events at The Bakehouse.

HI! I’M JOY!

Jump to Recipe

Welcome! This has been my little corner of the internet since 2008!

I’m a baker, photographer, cookbook author and teacher.  I live laugh love in New Orleans. 

MORE ABOUT JOY AND THE TEAM

BOOKS + Magazines

Jump to Recipe

JOY THE BAKER 2022 SUMMER MAGAZINE

JOY THE BAKER 2021 HOLIDAY MAGAZINE

JOY THE BAKER 2020 HOLIDAY MAGAZINE

HOMEMADE DECADENCE

OVER EASY: SWEET AND SAVORY RECIPES FOR LEISURELY DAYS COOKBOOK

JOY THE BAKER COOKBOOK

Jump to Recipe

Joy the baker with dyed bandana around neck

HOW TO MAKE DYED BANDANAS

as seen in JtB Magazine!

Jump to Recipe
joy the baker on facebook joy the baker on twitter pinterest-social instagram-socialbloglovin-social

JOY @ WILLIAMS SONOMA

Jump to Recipe

SHOP THE CAKE LINE OF CAKE MIXES!

DRAKE ON CAKE

Jump to Recipe

Passionate from miles away since 2015.

Check it out on Instagram

Drake on cake instagram.

 

FAVORITE FRUIT RECIPES

strawberry sheet cake on a plate with strawberries on top.

My Favorite Super Easy Strawberry Sheet Cake

Berry crostata topped with whipped cream with coffee.

A Single Serve Berry Crostata Recipe

fresh baked blueberry cobbler on a plate with vanilla ice cream on top.

The Secrets To My Favorite Blueberry Cobbler

POPULAR CAKES

strawberry sheet cake on a plate with strawberries on top.

My Favorite Super Easy Strawberry Sheet Cake

Slice of coconut cake on small white plate with coffee.

My favorite Coconut Cake is actually made with cake mix

A slice of lemon blueberry gooey butter cake held on a cake slicer.

Lemon Blueberry Gooey Butter Cake

Footer

Instagram

joythebaker

📚Baker and author of books and magazines
🎂Creator @drakeoncake
💁🏻‍♀️Classes with me @thebakehousenola
🍰 Products with @williamssonoma

joythebaker
My EASIEST Strawberry Sheet Cake is also my absolu My EASIEST Strawberry Sheet Cake is also my absolute favorite. Get into a box of white cake mix and fresh 🍓🍓 purée! Topped with a thick layer of strawberry cream cheese frosting - this cake is a little pink dream! ⁣
⁣
The Easiest Strawberry Sheet Cake recipe linked in the bio for you! 💋
Our resident reader, @tobyfels shares my favorite Our resident reader, @tobyfels shares my favorite list of the summer on Joy the Baker this year: The Best Books for Summer 2022!  As a person who reads Beach Reads all year long, this is IT! With titles by @ashleymcoleman_ @anarasong @annleary @bonnie_garmus_author @heyashposton @annabelmonaghan @greerhendricks @sarahpekkanen @shelbyvanpeltwrites @marilynsimonrothstein @@misterosman and @kirstin.chen. The guide to your bookworm summer linked in the bio!
Over here testing the limits of “you are what yo Over here testing the limits of “you are what you eat” and will soon be taking my final form as a summer tomato. ⁣🫠🍅
⁣
This Mediterranean Feta and Fresh Tomato Tart is an absolute show stopper with a buttery crisp, press-in crust, whipped feta, and layers of fresh tomato, cucumber, onions, and olives. I’ll leave the recipe linked in the bio - it’s really very special. Join me. We are 🍅🍅.
Here are my two best kept secrets for getting thro Here are my two best kept secrets for getting through this summer.  I’ve never been much for secrets so I’m letting you right in! ⁣
1.	I’m committed to folding crumbled chewy brownies into the easiest homemade no-churn ice cream.⁣
2.	I’m shopping for all of my baking and summer entertaining essentials, wine and cheese at the new @aldiusa stores opening across the Gulf Coast! Wait… you’re as obsessed with ALDI as I am, right? The shopping is always easy and affordable and I always come home with a fun treat among my essentials. Hit up my stories to see my grocery haul (and the chips I ate in the car on the way home) and head to your nearest ALDI for your summer essentials!  #ad⁣
⁣
I’ll leave the recipe and your #ALDILove grocery list linked in the bio!
Let’s just make one! ⁣ ⁣ One Single Berry Cr Let’s just make one! ⁣
⁣
One Single Berry Crostata just you for. Double the recipe (🔗 in the bio) only if you want to share. ⁣
⁣
#joythebaker #berry #crostata #smallbatch #dessert #foodblogfeed
The freezer is packed with ice cream treats from h The freezer is packed with ice cream treats from here on out, and that’s a promise. ⁣
⁣
Find this Milk and Cereal Ice Cream Bar and loads of other semi-homemade ice cream treats linked in the bio! 💓🍦🫠
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2022 · Joy the Baker
All rights reserved. Violators will be whupped and sent to bed with no dessert · Privacy Policy

Scroll Up