Viral Holiday Cookie Box Trend: A Dietitian’s Review of Broma Bakery’s Brown Butter Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies
Reviewing a holiday trend & the important role sugar plays in the science of baking.
Blog sponsored by The Canadian Sugar Institute
Written by RD, Elis Halenko & nutrition intern, Gabby Romero
Baking is a Science
At some point in our lives we have all heard that “baking is a science”. While sometimes this can feel like a hassle ensuring that each measurement is perfect before going in the mixing bowl; it actually means that the recipe should always be a success. Each ingredient in a recipe works together (scientifically) to ensure that chemical reactions can take place to result in the desired end product, texture, and flavor.
Sugar, specifically, plays a major role in the science of baked goods. It helps keep your end products moist since sugar easily binds with water. Not to get too food science-y but sugar also helps prevent the gluten from developing too much, keeping your treat soft and fluffy (imperial sugar blog, 2024).
How The amount and type of sugar impacts a recipe:
1. Placing sugar on the outside or on top of your baked goods: will provide a crunchy top after baking.
2. Brown sugar: will add more moisture and chewiness to the treat because of the added molasses.
3. Granulated white sugar: helps to create that delicious golden brown color to cookies and bread, which is due to the caramelization that occurs at high temperatures.
This is just a peek into what recipe developers have to consider when adding sugar into their baked goods. If they tested a cookie recipe and it wasn’t chewy enough or needed a richer color, they would adjust the amount of brown sugar in the recipe to help create the right texture and color.
Sugar Substitutes
This brings us to the question of “can I use a sugar substitute in baking”? While some sugar replacements are fine to use as a one-to-one replacement, most will not give you the desired outcome. This is due to the science we just discussed. These artificial sweeteners tend to break down at higher temperatures, leaving you with an end product of a cookie, but not exactly the cookie you were expecting. Stevia is an example of a sweetener that can be used in some baking recipes, the amount will just need to be adjusted. Too much stevia can result in a bitter taste (stevia.org, 2024). Some experts recommend using a combination of stevia and another sweetener of choice like honey or agave. To put it simply, it behaves differently than real sugar while baking which can leave you with an unexpected outcome like a flat cupcake. See an example below creds to Charlotte's Lively Kitchen (Natvia is another name for Stevia).
Let’s put it to the test
I wanted to test this theory by trialing a cookie recipe and adjusting the amount of sugar in separate batches. That way we can really see how sugar is affecting the outcome of the baked good. Let’s start with the original recipe review:
The Review:
Broma Bakery’s Brown Butter Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies
Original recipe pulled from Broma Bakery
Yield: 18 cookies
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 11 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
The original cookie recipe from Broma Bakery
FOR THE COOKIES
1/2 cup unsalted butter, browned
1/3 cup pumpkin puree, dried (see recipe)
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg yolk*
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
FOR THE CINNAMON SUGAR COATING
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
pinch of salt
Method:
1.Preheat the oven to 350° and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
2. Combine all the ingredients for the cinnamon sugar mixture. Stir and set aside.
3. Place your 1/3 cup pumpkin puree on a thick paper towel and thoroughly dry it out (I like to wrap it all up and squeeze out all the excess moisture.
4. In a large mixing bowl combine the melted butter, blotted pumpkin puree and sugars. Whisk to combine.
5. Add the egg yolk and vanilla extract and mix well.
6. Add the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, salt, and spices. Mix until a soft dough forms and no streaks of flour remain.
7. Use a 1-ounce cookie scoop to scoop out balls of dough, dropping them first in the cinnamon sugar mixture to evenly coat on all sides and then 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheet. Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes or until they have puffed up and are set on the edges but still under-baked in the middle. Do not overbake.
8. Let them cool off and enjoy!
Ease: 4/5
These cookies are quite simple to make. The hardest part is browning the butter as it can be tedious and it can burn really quickly. If you burn the butter you have to start over but Sarah provides great tips in the recipe description.
Accessibility & Affordability : 5/5
All of the ingredients in this recipe are your standard baking ingredients. Pumpkin puree has increased in price over the years, however, it is still affordable. All in all, these cookies are simple and budget-friendly.
Taste/Nutrition: 4/5
The flavour of these cookies are a 5/5, but their sweetness level was a bit too sweet for my taste, earning them a 4/5. That’s why I created a modified version of these delicious cookies below.
Modifying the Sugar content
Now that we have the original recipe, let’s get into the science experiment. I took the original recipe and altered the amount of sugar added in three trials. I did one trial with normal amounts of brown and granulated sugar (control), one recipe with half the amount of brown and granulated sugar (¼ cup each) and one trial with no sugar. Let’s see how the cookies turned out…
As we can see from the images, they all look a little different. The original recipe was delicious. A classic buttery, chewy, and sugary cookie that will please just about anyone. It was a little sweet for my liking, especially when compared to the half-sweet cookie.
The cookies with half the amount of sugar had a saltier caramel taste which was a great contrast to the overall sweetness of the cookie! The texture was fluffier and more cake-like, but I was pleasantly surprised with this batch!
The cookie with no sugar stayed round like a dough ball. It did not spread at all and had a scone-like texture. While it still was not bad, you could taste more of the baking soda in this cookie and the aftertaste was not pleasant.
All in all, I would recommend re-creating the half-sweet cookie! If you don’t mind the slight change in texture, the sweet and salty flavor is 10/10!
our version of the recipe:
made by a Dietitian
FOR THE COOKIES
1/2 cup unsalted butter, browned
1/3 cup pumpkin puree, dried (see recipe)
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg yolk*
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
FOR THE CINNAMON SUGAR COATING
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
pinch of salt
Method:
1.Preheat the oven to 350° and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
2. Combine all the ingredients for the cinnamon sugar mixture. Stir and set aside.
3. Place your 1/3 cup pumpkin puree on a thick paper towel and thoroughly dry it out (I like to wrap it all up and squeeze out all the excess moisture.
4. In a large mixing bowl combine the melted butter, blotted pumpkin puree and sugars. Whisk to combine.
5. Add the egg yolk and vanilla extract and mix well.
6. Add the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, salt, and spices. Mix until a soft dough forms and no streaks of flour remain.
7. Use a 1-ounce cookie scoop to scoop out balls of dough, dropping them first in the cinnamon sugar mixture to evenly coat on all sides and then 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheet. Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes or until they have puffed up and are set on the edges but still under-baked in the middle. Do not overbake.
8. Let them cool off and enjoy!
Dietitian Tips: How to still practice balance during the Holidays?
Balancing your diet with protein and healthy meals with the occasional sweet treat during a holiday party is a wonderful way to practice healthy eating. Some quick tips for consuming higher in sugar foods:
1.Eat high-sugar foods with protein & fat: Having a higher sugar treat can cause a spike in blood sugar. Pairing it with a protein or fibre source when you can will help keep everything more stable.
2. Eat what you crave: As I mentioned above, depriving yourself is not the way to go! Deprivation can lead to overconsumption and negative feelings around some foods.
3. Engage in balanced eating: People love to start a new health routine the day after New Year’s or Christmas. Try not to go 0 to 100 on your health journey, eat the foods you crave during the holiday season but make sure you are eating enough nutritious foods packed with protein and vitamins most of the time.
Overall recipe rating: WORTH IT with modifications!