Norwegian Brown Cheese Cookies with Reese’s Pieces

Yes, I’m here with another brown cheese dessert recipe! I’ve always wanted to make a recipe with Norwegian brown cheese and peanut butter, because American visitors often remark that our brown cheese tastes like peanut butter cheese. So when I found Reese’s Pieces peanut butter candies at my local Normal shop, I knew I had to try adding them to brown cheese cookies.

And wow were these cookies delicious! I added melted brown cheese to the cookie dough, so they’re a bit like peanut butter cookies with brown cheese flavor.

But if you don’t have access to Reese’s Pieces (they not usually available here in Norway), you can make these cookies with chopped white chocolate instead.

You can buy Norwegian brown cheese on Amazon here.

While not technically a cheese brunost is made from leftover whey from the cheesemaking process. The whey is boiled down until it caramelizes. In Norway you can buy brown cheese made both from cow’s milk and from goat’s milk, with slightly varying flavors. Some supermarkets abroad carry brown cheese as well, otherwise you can order it online.

I’ve used Gudbrandsdalen brown cheese in this recipe, but you can use any Norwegian brown cheese you like (eg. geitost, fløtemysost, Ski Queen, etc).

Tips

First, measure out the butter and let it soften to room temperature.

Then slice or chop the brown cheese and add it to a saucepan, along with two or three tablespoons of the butter you’ve already measured out. Melt the mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly until the brown cheese fully melts and you have a smooth mixture, about the consistency of cream cheese.

Then cream the sugar and butter together in a large mixing bowl and add the brown cheese mixture, two eggs, and vanilla. I usually use vanilla sugar, but you can use vanilla extract instead.

Then add the dry ingredients and mix until you have a smooth cookie dough. Finally add the Reese’s Pieces (or chopped white chocolate). I like to save a handful of Reese’s pieces to add to the top of the formed cookies.

If you want added brown cheese flavor, you can also chop up a few slices of brown cheese and add that to the cookie dough along with the Reese’s or chocolate. Or if you could even sub out some of the Reese’s pieces for chunks of brown cheese.

Drop the cookie dough by rounded tablespoons onto baking sheets, and if you like you can decorate the tops with more Reese’s Pieces.

Bake the cookies for about eight minutes, until the edges are golden but the centers are still soft. Let the cookies cool on a wire rack. Enjoy!

You can switch the recipe from US measurements to metric by clicking from “US Customary” to “Metric” under Ingredients.