Shortbread Brown Butter Cookies

Brown the butter
In a small saucepan with a light-colored bottom, heat the butter
over medium-low heat. (Use a pan with a lighter color so you can keep track of what’s happening in it.)
The butter will begin to foam as it melts, and the color will begin to deepen as it cooks. Swirl it occasionally, or use a wooden spoon or a rubber spatula to stir the butter.
When the butter is a brown color and it smells nutty, remove the
saucepan from the heat. This will take anywhere from 15-40 minutes, depending on how high your stove is on.
Transfer the browned butter—NOT including the majority of the browned bits in the bottom of the pan—to a food-safe storage container. You can use a fine mesh strainer to strain the milk solids out of the butter, but I’ve found if you pour slowly, it’ll remain at the bottom of the pan, and you can pretty easily keep it out of your butter.
Refrigerate. It needs to solidify before we bring it to room
temperature to make the cookies.

Make and Bake the Cookies
Preheat the oven to 300°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat, then set aside.
Cream together the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. This will take 2-3 minutes, as you want the ingredients to really be whipped together and become a light yellow. Alternatively, you can do this step with a hand mixer in a large bowl.
Measure in the vanilla and flour. Mix until combined. The mixture will look very crumbly, but it should come together when you shape it into a disc in your hand.
If the dough is still very loose, feel free to knead it a little bit to help it come together. (I had to do this for a bit, as the dough was very dry for me and took some working before it could be rolled out.)
When the dough has been shaped into a round, flat disc, sprinkle powdered sugar onto your countertop or another flat, clean surface.
Roll out the dough using a rolling pin until it’s about ½” thick. (If the cookie dough is thicker than this, it’ll take more time to bake and you will have less cookies.)
Use a cookie or a biscuit cutter to cut the cookies out, then transfer them to the prepared baking sheet.
Bake 20-25 minutes, or until they are just set and the edges are just starting to turn golden brown.
Remove the cookies from the oven, and let cool on a wire rack.
Make the Ganache
In a microwave safe-bowl, combine the chocolate and half-and-half.
Heat in 30 second increments until melty and delicious.
Once the cookies have cooled, dip or drizzle with the chocolate mixture.
Serve with your favorite warm beverage or a cold glass of milk, and enjoy!