Cookie Butter Creme Brulee

Rich and creamy, with a burst of warm spices thanks to one very special ingredient - cookie butter! Topped with a crisp caramelized-sugar crust, this recipe will have you baking gourmet brulee like the pros.

Prep: 15

Cook: 1

Chill 8

Total: 9 15

Yield:4 creme brulees

Equipment

Oven
4 small ramekins 4-6 ounces
Baking pan
medium saucepan
Large wooden spoon
medium mixing bowl heat-resistant
whisk
Fine mesh strainer
large glass measuring cup or heat-resistant bowl with pour spout
measuring cup or drinking cup, or bowl
wire cooling rack
Spoon optional
Plastic wrap
refrigerator or freezer
small butane kitchen torch or broiler

Ingredients

For the Cookie Butter Custard

½ cup whole milk at or close to room temperature
½ cup heavy cream at or close to room temperature
¼ cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large egg yolks at room temperature
5 tablespoons cookie butter
hot water as much as needed

For the Brulee Topping

4 teaspoons granulated sugar divided, plus more as needed

Serving Suggestion (Optional)

1-2 Biscoff cookies crumbled

Instructions

For the Cookie Butter Custard

Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit. Place 4 small ramekins in baking pan and set pan aside.
Add ½ cup whole milk, ½ cup heavy cream, ¼ cup granulated sugar, and ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract to saucepan. Stir to incorporate ingredients, then place saucepan on stovetop over medium-high heat. Heat saucepan, stirring occasionally, until mixture is hot but not boiling.
While mixture comes to temperature, place 2 large egg yolks into medium heat-resistant bowl. Whisk egg yolks together until fully combined.
Once milk and sugar mixture is hot, but before mixture begins to boil, remove saucepan from heat. Slowly and carefully, pour mixture into bowl with egg yolks, whisking constantly until ingredients are fully combined and mixture is smooth and liquidy. Add mixture in increments to avoid heating eggs too quickly.
While mixture is still warm, add 5 tablespoons cookie butter and whisk vigorously until cookie butter is incorporated into custard mixture.
Fit strainer over glass measuring cup. Carefully pour cookie butter custard mixture through strainer and into measuring cup. Use back of wooden spoon to push any spices or large pieces of cookie butter through mesh of strainer.
Once custard is well strained, pour custard into ramekins, filling dishes evenly.
Carefully place baking pan holding filled ramekins in preheated oven. Before closing oven door, pour hot water directly into baking pan, being careful not to spill any water into ramekins. Add enough hot water that waterline sits halfway up outside of each ramekin.
Close oven door and bake custards 30 to 35 minutes, or until just set. To check doneness, carefully and gently wiggle ramekin. Surface of custard should jiggle uniformly around edges and in center. Surface should also look glossy and uniform in color.
Once custards are ready, carefully remove baking pan from oven and set aside. Transfer ramekins to wire cooling rack and let custards cool to room temperature. Use spoon to lightly skim any foam or bubbles off surface of custards.
Once cooled, cover each ramekin with plastic wrap. Place covered ramekins in refrigerator and let chill at least 8 hours, or place covered ramekins in freezer and let chill 30 minutes to 1 hour.

For the Brulee Topping

When ready to serve, carefully remove ramekins from fridge or freezer. Unwrap and discard plastic wrap. Ready small butane torch, or preheat broiler to high and position oven rack at least 6 inches beneath heating element.
Sprinkle 1 teaspoon granulated sugar on top of each chilled custard, covering custard evenly. Use additional sugar as needed to cover entire surface of custard with light layer of sugar. Uncovered custard will curdle when heated.
Use kitchen torch to caramelize sugar as desired. Alternately, place ramekins under preheated broiler and broil 30 to 60 seconds, until sugar has caramelized as preferred. Remove from oven when satisfied with doneness, being careful not to burn sugar topping or warm custards.

To Serve the Cookie Butter Creme Brulee

Once tops of creme brulees are caramelized, garnish with Biscoff cookie crumbs if desired and serve immediately.

Notes

Dairy Products: Heating dairy products too quickly can cause them to curdle. For best results, take milk and cream out of refrigerator 15-20 minutes before beginning recipe.
Tempering Eggs: The egg yolks must be heated slowly to prevent scrambling them. Add the cream mixture to the eggs in small, gradual increments while whisking constantly. If the eggs start to scramble at any point, you'll need to discard the mixture and start again.
Over-baked Custards: If surface is fully set around edges and mostly set in center, custard will be dense and may taste eggy. Serve ASAP to avoid them becoming more dense. If your custards start to rise like baked goods, you'll need to discard them and start again.
Quick Freeze: Freeze custards at least 30 minutes, but no more than 1 hour.
Caramelized Sugar Crust: Be careful not to burn the sugar, or it'll taste bitter. Hold the torch at least 4 inches from the top of the custard, and don't hold the torch in one place for too long. Alternately, place the ramekins at least 6 inches below the broiler. Also keep in mind that if the sugar layer is too thick, it'll burn instead of melt, regardless of how you heat it.
Make Ahead: Unbaked custards can be covered and refrigerated up to 3 days before baking. Baked custards can be chilled in refrigerator up to 2 days before adding sugar topping.

Nutrition

Recipe By:Cheryl Malik