This easy creme brulee cookies recipe combines two dessert favorites to create an irresistible handheld treat! Gooey, soft sugar cookies are topped with a creamy pastry cream and then finished with a crispy caramelized sugar topping. It is a cookie lover's dream come true!
Best Crème Brûlée Cookies Recipe
This creme brûlée cookies recipe just may be the easiest and most delicious you have ever tried! Not only is it simple enough for even the inexperienced bakers, but it also uses the highest-quality ingredients (all of which you can find in your kitchen pantry or local grocery store) and perfect ratios to give it an unforgettable sweet, vanilla flavor that is gooey on the inside and crunchy on the outside.
But this isn't just any recipe. In addition to detailed step-by-step instructions, I explain the science behind the technique and provide expert tips to ensure you get flawless, bakery-style results!
Make The Vanilla Cookies Dough
Before starting, make sure that the butter and eggs are at room temperature; otherwise, they will not blend properly with the other ingredients. Place the eggs in a bowl of warm water for 5-10 minutes to quickly bring them to room temperature. See my guide, How To Soften Butter Quickly, for tips on how to do so without using a microwave.
Using an electric hand mixer, cream the butter with the sugar for a few minutes until the texture becomes light and fluffy. Be sure to use unsalted butter so you don't change the amount of salt in the recipe. Regular granulated sugar is best for making this sugar cookie dough.
Then, mix in the room-temperature egg, egg yolk, and pure vanilla extract (not imitation extract) until just combined.
Next, mix the dry ingredients (all purpose flour, salt, and baking soda) in a separate bowl. Use a sifter to avoid lumps in the batter. Once mixed, add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and fold them together with a rubber spatula until just combined.
Bake It
Prepare 2-3 baking sheets with parchment paper and divide the cookie dough into 12 equally-sized balls. I recommend using a digital scale, ice cream scoop, or cookie scoop for this step. Place the cookie balls onto the prepared baking sheet, ensuring you leave enough space between each cookie to spread.
Place the baking sheet in the refrigerator to chill for at least an hour. This part is vital to preventing flat cookies, so don't skip or attempt to shorten the chilling time.
Preheat your oven to 175 C / 347°F, without the oven fan. Do not skip this step if you want your cookies to bake correctly! Once the oven has preheated and the dough has chilled for at least an hour, bake the cookies for approximately 15 minutes.
Once the cookies have thoroughly baked, remove them from the parchment paper and move them to a cooling rack. They will continue to set as they cool. Avoid letting the cookies cool on the baking sheet, as moisture will build up on the bottom, making them soggy.
Prepare The Pastry Cream
While the cookies are cooling, prepare the pastry cream custard.
In a large bowl, use a hand whisk to whisk the sugar and egg yolk for 1-2 minutes until slightly fluffy. Then, whisk in the cornstarch, flour, and vanilla extract (or vanilla bean paste) until they form a smooth paste.
Next, bring the milk to a simmer in a saucepan over medium. Remove it from the heat as soon as it starts to simmer – do not let it reach a full boil.
To temper the egg yolks, pour the warm milk over the egg yolk mixture and whisk it vigorously with the hand whisk. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and cook it over medium heat for a few more minutes until it thickens.
Although the mixture may be lumpy initially, continue to whisk it, and it will eventually become a smooth and glossy cream. You can also strain it through a sieve to ensure it is lump-free.
Use your rubber spatula to gently mix in the room-temperature butter. I recommend adding the butter in three stages and mixing well after each addition to ensure it gets thoroughly incorporated.
Let the pastry cream cool completely to room temperature before you use it. Then, transfer the cream to a shallow tin and cover the surface with plastic wrap to prevent skin from forming on top.
Store the pastry cream in the refrigerator until ready to use, which should only be right before serving. Otherwise, it will moisten the cookies if they sit too long.
Assemble & Caramelize the Sugar on Top of the Crème Brûlée Cookies
Once you are ready to serve the cookies, make the brûlée top. I do not recommend doing so beforehand since the caramelized sugar will start to melt on top of the cookies.
Once the cookies have cooled completely and the pastry cream has cooled to room temperature, evenly spread the cream over the top of each cookie.
Next, sprinkle the top of each cookie with a thick layer of demerara sugar (or regular granulated sugar if you don't have demerara). Then, use a blow torch for a few seconds to caramelize the sugar.
You want to add enough sugar to the top of the pastry cream so that you have a solid layer. Keep your hand moving evenly across the top when blow-torching the sugar to prevent burnt spots.
Storing & Freezing
Creme brulee sugar cookies are best served freshly made. However, if you have leftovers, transfer them to an airtight container and store them in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Since the caramelized sugar layer can lose its crunchy texture over time, I recommend sprinkling it with more sugar and using the blow torch right before serving.
If you plan to serve the cookies the day after you make them, wait until the day to apply the pastry cream and caramelized sugar topping.
Flavor Variations
To give your creme brulee cookies a little twist, you can change the flavor of the base cookie. For example, you can add fresh grated lemon zest and lemon juice to the batter (as I do in my lemon cookies recipe) to make zesty lemon creme brulee cookies. Or, use orange to make orange creme brulee cookies!
You can also change the flavor of the pastry cream! Instead of vanilla pastry cream, you can make chocolate pastry cream or other tasty flavors, as I explain in my pastry cream recipe. Or, add spices such as cinnamon or nutmeg to give it a warmer flavor.
Ingredient Substitutions
For gluten-free cookies, replace the all-purpose flour with gluten-free flour. See my flour guide for more information on the different types of flour and their best uses in baking.
For egg-free or dairy-free cookies, use dairy-free butter and milk and try one of these egg substitutes. However, keep in mind that the cookie will have a different result than if you use egg and dairy products.
Remember, any ingredient substitutions will require adjusting the other ingredient ratios to maintain the same balance between flavor and texture. Unfortunately, I cannot provide recipe accommodations for every diet.
Expert Tips To Make The Crème Brûlée Cookies
- Use high-fat milk and butter for the best texture and flavor. I use 82% fat content European butter and 3% whole milk. You also want to use the highest-quality pure vanilla you can find.
- When mixing the wet and dry ingredients for the cookie dough, only mix them until thoroughly combined. Don't overmix it, or the dough will develop too much gluten, resulting in a cake-like texture rather than a chewy, crispy texture.
- Slightly underbake the cookies if you prefer fudgy, gooey crème brûlée cookies.
- If you notice that the cookies have spread too much during baking, you can use a large cookie cutter to apply circular movements as soon as they come out of the oven. Doing so will tighten their shape and also make them perfectly round.
- Consider keeping a good-quality small-medium saucepan just for pastry cream so the milk won't burn.
What Equipment To Use
A digital scale is a must-have to ensure the most accurate and consistent measurements. Likewise, a digital oven thermometer ensures the correct temperature during preheating and baking.
You will need an electric hand mixer to combine the wet ingredients. However, to avoid overmixing, only use a rubber spatula when combining the wet and dry ingredients.
A cooling rack helps cool the cookies quickly without worrying about the bottom getting soggy.
Use a kitchen torch to caramelize the sugar. Do not attempt to use the oven broiler, as some recipes suggest, as it will only melt the cookie's topping.
Try Some Of My Other Cookie Recipes
If you loved this creme brulee cookie recipe, you will also want to try my other unique cookie recipes:
- Tiramisu Cookies
- Coffee Cookies
- Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies
- Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Lemon Ricotta Cookies
Need even more ideas? Check out my round-up of 51 different types of cookies!
Have You Tried This Recipe?
Please leave a 5-star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating on the recipe card and consider leaving a comment as well!
Crème Brûlée Cookies
Ingredients
Vanilla Cookies
- 225 g (1 cups) Unsalted butter at room temperature
- 250 g (1¼ cups) Granulated sugar
- 1 Egg at room temperature
- 1 Egg yolk at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 310 g (1½ cups) All purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoon Baking soda
- 1 teaspoon Salt
Pastry cream
- 500 g (2 cups) Whole milk 3% fat
- 100 g (½ cups) Granulated sugar
- 80 g Egg yolk approx. yolk of 4-5 eggs
- 25 g (⅕ cups) Corn starch
- 25 g (⅕ cups) All purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- 50 g (¼ cups) Unsalted butter 82% fat, room temperature soft butter
Brûlée topping
- 50 g (¼ cups) Demerara sugar granulated sugar can work as well
US customary cup measurement is an indicative figure only. Measure the ingredients with a digital scale by weight (gram). Baking is art but also science which requires precision and accuracy.
Instructions
Make the vanilla cookies
- Mix in the eggs and vanilla just until combined.
- Mix flour, salt, and baking soda together, then add the mixture to the wet ingredients. Fold them together with the help of a rubber spatula.
- Prepare 2-3 baking pans with parchment paper. Divide the dough into 12 equal balls (using a digital scale is handy or use an ice cream scopper) and place them onto the parchment paper, leaving enough space between them to be able to spread.
- Chill the cookie dough for an hour.
- Pre-heat oven to 175 C / 347°F (no fan). After one hour of chilling time, bake the cookies for 15 minutes.
- Let the vanilla cookies rest for a few minutes, then carefully remove them from the parchment and cool them on a cooling rack. The cookies will further set as they cool.
Make the pastry cream
- In a large enough bowl, with the help of a hand whisk, whisk together sugar and egg yolk until slightly fluffy for about 1-2 minutes.
- Whisk in the corn starch, flour, and vanilla with until thoroughly incorporated and have a smooth paste.
- Bring milk to boil in a saucepan on medium heat then remove it as soon as it starts simmering. Make sure it is simmering but not crazy boiling.
- Pour the warm milk over the egg yolk mixture slowly while whisking vigorously with a hand whisk. This stage is effectively tempering the egg yolks and the mixture should already start to slightly thicken.
- Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and cook on medium heat for a few minutes until it thickens. Concretely it is approximately 1 min after the first boil. It might get lumpy first, don't worry just keep whisking and the cream will get smooth and glossy. It's worth to keep a good quality (so that the milk won't burn in it) small/medium sized saucepan for making pastry cream only.
- If in doubt, strain the pastry cream for a lump free, creamy end result.
- Add in room temperature soft butter and mix with a Rubber spatula until completely incorporated. It is worth to add the butter in 3 stages and mix well after each addition.
- Pastry cream needs to completely cool before using it. Place the cream into a shallow tin and cover the entire surface with plastic wrap to avoid skin forming on top. Refrigerate until using it.
Assemble
- Please note that the caramelized sugar, after a few hours, will start to melt on top of the cookies so only make the brûlée top right before serving the cookies. Also, the pastry cream, if stayed too long, might make the cookies moist, so the entire assemble should be applied straight before serving.
- When the cookies are no longer hot and the pastry cream cooled to room temperature, spread the pastry cream evenly on top of the cookies.
- To make the brûlée top; sprinkle the top of the pastry cream with a thick layer of demerara sugar, then caramelize it in a few seconds with a blow torch.
- Store any leftover cookies refrigerated in an air-tight container for 2-3 days. Sprinkle with some more sugar and apply the blow torch again before serving.
Notes
- Measure your ingredients with a digital scale for accuracy.
- Good quality butter and pure vanilla are the heart of making pastry cream. Use high-quality 82% fat content European butter and the best quality vanilla you can access.
- For the cookies, make sure that all the ingredients are at room temperature.
- For the brûlée topping, demerara sugar works best, but granulated sugar can also be a good substitute.
- Make sure you read my Expert tips section above to maximize your success. A short recipe alone cannot cover all the necessary details and science behind baking.
- Do not overmix the cookie dough when adding the dry ingredients. Fold it only until thoroughly combined.
- Respect the chilling time in the cookie recipe. Do not skip it, or the cookies might end up very flat.
- Try not to overbake your vanilla cookies if you prefer them fudgy and gooey.
- If the cookies spread too much in the oven, grab a large cookie cutter and apply circular movements to them straight after they come out of the oven. This movement will tighten the cookies and make them perfectly round.
- Before assembling, make sure that the cookies are at room temperature and the pastry cream is cold.
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