Serenity Cookies (Sweet Magnolias)

Serenity Cookies inspired by Sweet Magnolias are made with a brown butter dough, dark chocolate, walnuts, allspice, and almond extract for a tender, chewy, and flavorful cookie.

 

Serenity Cookies Inspiration and Purpose

These Sweet Magnolias Cookies are inspired by the popular Netflix series and loaded with walnuts and dark chocolate in brown butter and almond cookie dough with a bit of allspice!

I rarely do pop culture-inspired recipes anymore, but I loved this concept when it popped into my head a few days ago.

I’m not a huge fan of the show Sweet Magnolias, but for some reason, I seem to binge every season, even though I think the plot is pretty “meh.” Virgin River falls in the same category 🙃 But there were a few sweet things about this season that I thought were great. Like the focus on “feeding the community.” I loved how Dana Sue decided to do more with the gift she was given and bless those in need.

I think part of me is a little old-fashioned in that I still think it’s the sweetest when friends and family say thank you with food. And I thought Noreen thanking the staff of Sullivan’s for helping with the baby with a batch of her family’s secret cookie recipe was super thoughtful.

As someone who grew up with periods of food insecurity, supporting our local food pantry is very important to me. Especially since my job requires me to put a lot of time and testing into these recipes to try and eliminate the risk of failed recipes on your end, that can mean extra waste on mine.

So, I wanted to take those two ideas from the television story and combine them. That’s why the revenue from this recipe inspired by Noreen’s will be donated to our local food pantry. So please, share this recipe far and wide so we can help those struggling with food insecurity.

Key Ingredient Notes

Dark Chocolate – This is the first ingredient Noreen mentions, and I recommend using chopped baking chocolate or dark chocolate chips such as Guittard brand.

Walnuts – Noreen says her family uses crushed walnuts, which isn’t a common term for walnuts. You either have ground meal from walnuts or you have chopped walnuts. I chose to embrace the latter and finely chopped the nuts so they were more distributed throughout the dough.

Butter – Noreen and the show weren’t going to give away all their secrets of this delicious cookie recipe, so here’s where I decided to add my own interpretation and brown the butter for an even more nutty flavor. I recommend using a European-style butter for best results.

Almond Extract – This is Dana Sue’s first note she picked up from the cookies. It’s not too overpowering, with just a teaspoon of almond extract in the dough. But if you really love that warm almond flavor, feel free to replace the vanilla extract with even more almond instead.

Ground Allspice – This is the flavor that Eric tastes once he’s tried the cookies.

Since Noreen adds gives us the base flavors and doesn’t deny or confirm Dana Sue and Eric’s guesses, I’m assuming the flavors they noted were accurate.

This recipe uses the base of my Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies and adds a few more ingredients to it to give it its dynamic flavor. The process is simple but definitely different than other cookie recipes, given its unique mixing method. It’s a no-chill dough, and you’ll be pulling the first batch out of the oven in about 40 minutes.

How To Make Serenity Cookies

Step 1: Whisk together the flour, powdered milk, baking soda, allspice, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.

Step 2: Add the sugars and extracts to a large bowl or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment and set aside.

Step 3: Add 10 tablespoons of butter to a large skillet and brown over medium-high heat. Check out my full guide for How To Brown Butter. Once browned, add in the remaining butter and stir until melted.

Step 4: Add the brown butter to the sugar and mix until combined.

Step 5: Add the egg and egg yolk and mix, then rest, mix, and alternate until you’ve reached 2 minutes of mixing.

Step 6: Swap to a paddle attachment if using a stand mixer, then add in the dry ingredients and mix just until combined.

Step 7: Chop up the chocolate and walnuts and add to the dough, reserving some for topping for a more polished finish, if desired.

Step 8: Portion out the dough with a 2-ounce cookie scoop (the dough balls should actually weigh about 2.7 ounces each) and drop on parchment-lined baking sheets 4 inches apart. I usually bake 6 cookies per 12×17-inch baking sheet.

Step 9: Bake until the edges are just golden, rotating halfway through. Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to rest on the pan for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

How To Store Sweet Magnolias Cookies

These cookies should be stored in an airtight container at room temperature and enjoyed within a few days.

How To Freeze Serenity Cookies

Follow my guide for How To Freeze Cookie Dough for cookies that are ready to bake when you want them. You can also freeze baked cookies for up to three months; just make and let them cool to room temperature before adding them to a freezer bag and squeezing out any excess air.

Serenity Cookies FAQs

Let’s Connect!

If you’ve tried this recipe, please let me know how you liked it in the comments below and leave a review. I love hearing from you!

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