Metro’s Murray River Sea Salt Brown Butter Buttons
Recipes from Metropulos
Since closing Metropulos in the Funk Zone in early 2024, I’ve been surprised, sometimes even overwhelmed, by the number of recipe requests I’ve received. Hearing from the community about the impact our shop had, and the small void it left in Santa Barbara’s culinary world, has been humbling. In time, I hope to put together a simple cookbook featuring our most-requested recipes. Until that cookbook comes to life, I hope to satisfy some of those requests (yes, I’m looking at you: Super Fudgy Moist Brownies, gyro meat, Peanut Butter Brittle Cookies, and more).
I thought I’d start with one of the most-requested: our Murray River Sea Salt Brown Butter Buttons. This cookie came about in an unusual way, and its name has a story, too.
Early on at Metropulos, a customer told me about her friends up the coast in Cayucos who were dedicating their market space exclusively to cookies. Their shop, Brown Butter Cookie Co., was just getting started. (If you haven’t been there, you should go. It’s adorable, and their cookies are divine.) We began selling their cookies at Metropulos, and they were an instant hit. The company itself experienced such rapid growth it became too difficult to keep sourcing them.
I decided to try my hand at making them in-house. I found an old Gourmet Magazine recipe from 1961 for brown butter cookies and used it as my starting point to create a signature cookie for Metropulos. The result came close to the original’s flavor and texture and our customers agreed. They were easy to make, the dough froze beautifully, and the cookies stayed fresh for a long time—if they lasted that long at all. We could hardly keep them in stock.
As for the name—Murray River Sea Salt Brown Butter Buttons—this was my adaptation to make the cookies uniquely ours. The Murray River in Australia produces an exceptional, clean, flaky salt, which I sprinkled on top. I shaped the cookies into rounds, poked four little holes in them like buttons, and finished them with a few flakes of Murray River salt. If you’d like to make your own, you can use any flaky or crunchy salt, but I wouldn’t recommend table or kosher salt. Choose something special—the right salt makes the flavors really pop.
Metro’s Murray River Sea Salt Brown Butter Buttons
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ⅔ cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Sea salt, crunchy or flaky, for sprinkling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Position a rack in the center of the oven.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and baking soda. Set aside.
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Use a larger pan than you think you need to prevent overflow. Once melted, increase the heat slightly and let the butter simmer. It will become foamy as the milk solids separate. Stir frequently and watch closely to prevent burning.
- When the butter turns golden brown and has a nutty aroma, remove it from the heat. Let it cool slightly, then transfer to a bowl to solidify at room temperature. Do not strain out the browned bits as they add flavor. (This step can be done in advance; store browned butter in the fridge and bring to room temperature before using.)
- In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or using a hand mixer), cream the cooled, room temperature browned butter with both sugars until light and fluffy. Mix in the vanilla extract.
- Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed just until combined. Do not overmix. Gently knead the dough in the bowl to bring it together.
- Let the dough rest for 30 minutes to help it hold its shape. Note: If the dough feels too crumbly, add 1 tablespoon of melted butter (does not need to be browned) and mix it in for additional moisture.
Shaping the Cookies
- At Metropulos, we made these cookies in two sizes, but the mini size is particularly fun.
- Use a 1-inch cookie scoop for small cookies or a 2-inch scoop for larger ones.
- If you don’t have a scoop, pinch off a piece of dough and roll it between your palms to form a tight ball, a little smaller than a golf ball.
- Arrange the dough balls on a parchment or silicone-lined baking sheet, spacing them 2 inches apart. Gently press each ball into a flat disk, smoothing the edges to retain their shape.
- Bake small cookies for 7-9 minutes and large cookies for 10-12 minutes.
- The cookies are done when they just begin to turn golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and immediately sprinkle each cookie with flaky sea salt. To create the signature button-look, use a wooden toothpick to poke four small holes in the top of each cookie.
- Let the cookies cool completely before eating (they are crisper when cooled) and store in an air-tight container.
Woah! Thank you so much for sharing this !delicious! recipe. So kind of you. Yummm
The best kept secret is finally out.
These turned out so dusty!!! Do they need an egg?
Butter is the binder for these cookies. If they’re turning out too crumbly, follow the note in the recipe to add more butter (doesn’t have to be browned butter) until the cookies hold their shape.