Brown Butter Maple Spritz Cookies (1995 2nd Place Winner)

To brown the butter, melt butter in a small, heavy saucepan over low heat. When fully melted, increase heat to medium and cook, stirring constantly, until the butter turns a medium brown and smells nutty. Measure out 1 cup to use for cookies and reserve the rest for the filling. Refrigerate until firm but not solid, about 30 minutes.

For cookies, heat oven to 325 degrees. Have ready a cookie press and ungreased baking sheet(s).

Beat the 1 cup brown butter, 1/2 cup of the confectioners' sugar, vanilla and salt in large bowl of electric mixer until creamy. Add egg and egg yolks and mix to combine. Stop mixer and add flour; mix on low speed just until flour disappears.

Transfer dough to a cookie press and press onto baking sheet in desired shapes, spacing them 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake until set, 16 to 18 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

For filling, cook maple syrup in a heavy 2-quart saucepan over high heat for 5 minutes. Cool to lukewarm then stir in remaining 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar. Beat the reserved brown butter in a food processor or a small bowl of electric mixer until light. Add the syrup mixture and beat until smooth. If mixture is too thick, add a small amount of milk or cream until it is spreadable.

Assemble cookies by spreading about 1/2 teaspoon filling on the flat side of half the cookies. Sandwich with another cookie.