Sliced bread did not make the cut either

The Atlantic just published a list of The 50 Greatest Breakthroughs Since the Wheel*.

On it:
Paper (#6)
Refrigeration  (#13)
The automobile (#18)
Anesthesia (#46)
Alphabetization (#25)
The pill (#20)
The Internet (#9)

Not on it:
Pumpkin Spice Lattes from Starbucks**

So just calm the f#%$ down, people.

It is OK, though, to get a little happy about this (Pumpkin) Spiced Brown Butter Cookie Brittle.

Spiced Brown Butter Cookie Brittle

by Sharon Graves

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

I've been going a little nuts for cookie brittle since I found a version by Moon Dance Baking on the shelf of our local market.  It's this crazy, buttery, crunchy treat that is technically a cookie but thin and decadent and rich like candy.  After tracking several online versions down to this source from Nestle, I had a roadmap.  In went the brown butter, out went the chocolate chips and nuts.  In went all the great spices of Fall, plus pepper and a hint of coffee, because, in the spirit of inventors everywhere, why the hell not? The results...amazing.  Invent your own version asap, or just copy mine.  I'm fine with that.

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Ingredients

• 1 c. (2 sticks) butter
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 tsp. cinnamon (optional)
• 1 tsp. ginger (optional)
• 1/2 tsp. cloves (optional)
• 1/2 tsp. espresso powder (optional)
• 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper (optional)
• 1/2 c. brown sugar
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 c. flour

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

Place butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. After the butter melts, continue cooking for 5 minutes or so, stirring frequently. It may foam up, which is fine. Watch carefully, as your goal is to see the milk solids and salt in the butter begin to turn brown, but you don’t want to have them burn. When the butter is a light tan/golden color and begins to smell toasty, immediately remove from heat.

Allow to cool slightly, then stir the vanilla and the spices, if using, into the saucepan. Get as creative as you like here in terms of add-in flavors, but the key is to add them to the warm brown butter so they get an extra boost in the cookies.

Stir in the brown sugar, sugar and salt with a wooden spoon or a spatula, then stir in the flour. The mixture will start off smooth but become drier and almost crumbly as you stir and the butter cools.

If you want your brittle to be shaped like biscotti, divide cookie mixture into two equal portions on your prepared baking sheet. Using your hands, form the dough into two long rectangles, each about 6 inches across, and press down with your fingers to a thickness of about 1/3 of an inch.

Otherwise, you can press all of the dough out into one large rectangle on the baking sheet, and press away. It may not fill up the entire sheet...that's fine!

Bake for 15-18 minutes, until golden brown in the center and slightly darker on the edges.

If you are forming biscotti shapes, immediately cut through the long rectangles with a sharp knife, at about 1 inch intervals. The cookies will harden quickly as they cool, making cutting difficult, so you want to do this while they are fresh out of the oven.  Otherwise, allow to cool completely, and break up into tasty pieces by hand.

Cookies will keep for a week, stored in an airtight container.

* Thank you to Kottke for the link.  Love this site.
** Even if they apparently have the ability to produce chatty white girls at will.