I know. It sounds like something from a survival kit or a retro astronaut pantry, but powdered butter is having a moment in my kitchen. I recently cracked open a canister I'd bought to make keto egg bread. Turns out, it's kind of magical in Butter Powder Chocolate Chip Cookies!
A Little More About Butter Powder
If you're thinking of the old Butter Buds from back in the '80s, you are not alone. But this product is different. This is real butter that’s been dehydrated and turned into shelf-stable particles. It's typically made by spraying melted butter into a chamber of hot air (spray drying), which removes the moisture and leaves behind a powder. The brand that I'm using, Augason Farms, adds salt and milk solids so that it will taste good when rehydrated. This you can do by mixing it with water to make a spread. For the cookies, I used the Augason Farms straight from the can.
Butter Powder Chocolate Chip Cookies Goal
The goal for putting butter powder in chocolate chip cookies was to add more butter flavor, perhaps make them a little richer and hopefully not have any negative effects on texture. I used it straight out of the can (as mentioned) and creamed it along with the butter and sugar. I then added the rest of the ingredients directly to the bowl so that this would be an easy one-bowl recipe. There's just no need to mix the flour, baking soda and salt together separately here.
Chocolate Chip Cookies Flavor and Texture
So how were they? The cookies in these photos are from dough that I did not chill, so perhaps I'll add new photos of cookies made with dough that's spent 36 hours in the refrigerator. But even without a chill, these baked up into pretty cookies. The butter powder definitely gives the cookies a flavor boost, and the texture is moist but not cakey. I'd call these about medium thickness. And you can see that they are kind of a golden yellow color.
After I made these, I made some much larger Gideon's Bakery size Butter Powder Chocolate Chip Cookies, so I'll post that recipe as well. For now, here's a good all-purpose chocolate chip cookie recipe you can make the next time you're itching to use a big canister of butter powder. Or maybe you don't have any and liked to give it a try? Here's where I bought mine.
Update: I tried these again with slightly less butter powder (3 tablespoons) and liked the results even better. They still had extra buttery flavor, but the edges didn't brown as much.
Recipe
Butter Powder Chocolate Chip Cookies
Equipment
- Mixer
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened (228 grams)
- 3 tablespoons powdered butter (15 grams)
- ¾ cup packed light brown sugar (150 grams)
- ½ cup granulated sugar (100 grams)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon salt (Morton Kosher)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 large eggs, room temperature room temperature
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour (280 grams)
- 1 ½ cups 255g semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips or chunks
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line baking sheets with parchment. For darker cookies, you can bake at 375°F
- In the bowl a stand mixer, beat the regular butter, butter powder and both sugars until light and creamy or for about for 3-4 minutes, stopping often to scrape the bowl.
- Scrape the sides of the bowl and add the vanilla, salt and baking soda. Beat until mixed, then add the eggs, one at a time, beating for 30 seconds after each egg is added.
- Add flour and mix with the paddle on low speed until it's about halfway blended, then add the chocolate chips and beat on low until flour is fully blended.
- Chill the dough for 30 minutes to overnight for thicker cookies with deeper flavor. You can chill it in a bowl or you can scoop the cookie dough onto a plate, cover and chill the preformed balls.
- Drop heaping tablespoons (or use a medium cookie scoop) onto baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until golden brown around the edges and just set in the center.
- Cool. Let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to finish cooling.
Anna says
I'm looking forward to using it in other things like perhaps buttery scones or yeast bread.
Sue K says
Fascinating! I have not heard of that until now.