Brown Butter Cinnamon Bun Sandwich Cookies

Place 7 tablespoons unsalted butter for the cookies in the bowl of a stand mixer (or large bowl if using an electric hand mixer). Place 1 tablespoon of the unsalted butter and 6 ounces cream cheese for the cinnamon sugar and frosting on the counter. Let everything sit at room temperature until softened.

Brown the remaining 8 tablespoons unsalted butter for the frosting and cinnamon sugar: Melt in a small saucepan over medium heat. Continue to cook, swirling the pan occasionally, until foam forms at the top and the solids at the bottom brown, about 5 minutes. Immediately scrape the butter, including the solids, into a small heatproof bowl. Let sit until room temperature. Meanwhile, make the cookie dough.

Add 1/2 cup granulated sugar and 2 tablespoons vanilla bean paste to the bowl with the 7 tablespoons unsalted butter. Beat on medium speed with the paddle attachment until combined, about 1 minute. Add 1 large egg and beat until combined, about 1 minute.

Place 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt in a medium bowl and whisk to combine. With the mixer on the lowest speed, add to the butter mixture gradually and beat until just combined.

Transfer the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap and shape into a disc. Wrap the disc up in the plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firmed up slightly, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, wash and dry the stand mixer and attachment. Make the cinnamon sugar.

Transfer 2 tablespoons of the room temperature browned butter to a small bowl. Add 1/4 cup granulated sugar and 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon to the remaining browned butter and stir together until it looks like wet sand.

Unwrap and place the dough on a lightly floured work surface. Roll out into a 7x12-inch rectangle about 1/4-inch thick with a longer side closer to you. Spread the cinnamon sugar evenly over the dough. Starting at the bottom, slowly roll up into a tight log. Wrap the log up in plastic wrap and tighten and twist the ends of the plastic to keep the log compact and intact.

Freeze the log for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, arrange 2 racks to divide the oven into thirds and heat the oven to 350ºF. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Unwrap the log and brush all over with the remaining room temperature browned butter. Sprinkle all over with 1/4 cup demerara sugar. Place on a cutting board and cut crosswise into 28 to 30 (1/3-inch thick) rounds. Place all the rounds on the baking sheets, spacing them evenly apart.

Bake for 8 minutes. Rotate the baking sheets between racks and from front to back. Bake until firm on the edges but still slightly soft in the middle (this works well for a sandwich cookie so the filling doesn’t ooze out), about 7 minutes more. (If you want a crunchy cookie, bake for 5 minutes more.)

Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes. Transfer to wire racks and let cool completely. Meanwhile, make the cream cheese filling.

Place the remaining browned butter and the 1 tablespoon softened unsalted butter in the bowl of the stand mixer (or medium bowl if using an electric hand mixer). Beat with the paddle attachment on medium speed until combined, about 1 minute.

Add 1/2 cup powdered sugar and beat on high speed until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste, 2 teaspoons honey, and 1 pinch kosher salt. Beat on medium speed until combined, about 1 minute. Transfer the mixture to another bowl.

Place the cream cheese in the now-empty bowl and beat on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the butter mixture to the cream cheese in 3 additions, beating on medium speed after each addition until combined. Transfer to a piping bag or plastic zip-top bag.

Flip half of the cookies over. Cut the tip off the piping bag or a bottom corner of a zip-top bag. Pipe about 1 heaping tablespoon of the filling onto each upside-down cookie. Top with the remaining cookies right-side up to make the sandwich cookies.