Brown Butter Cookie Company: A Little Brown Butter, a Lot of Heart

From a small-town deli to a beloved California cookie brand, Brown Butter Cookie Company has built its success on simple ingredients, big ideas and a passion for creating something delicious. Now, a new collaboration with California Prunes brings a fresh twist to its signature shortbread – just in time for the holidays.

California Prunes has partnered with Sisters Traci Alderson and Crista Hozie, co-founders of Brown Butter Cookie Company for a limited time offering, a Brown Butter Sea Salt Sugar Plum Cookie that brings together the company’s signature cookie base with the naturally rich sweetness of California Prunes, crunchy walnuts and warming holiday spices.

For anyone whose experience with prunes begins and ends with eating them straight from the package, it’s a compelling reminder of just how versatile this California-grown fruit can be.

Sometimes the Sweetest Successes Start with a Single Bite

For sisters Traci Alderson and Crista Hozie, co-founders of Brown Butter Cookie Company, that bite was a buttery, sweet-and-salty shortbread cookie served at their small specialty food store in Cayucos, California.

At the time, cookies weren’t even the main attraction. The sisters were running a deli, with a modest tray of brown butter sea salt cookies displayed alongside their other offerings. However, something unexpected kept happening. Customers would try a sample, leave the store and promptly return to buy every cookie in sight.

“We had this one little tray of brown butter sea salt cookies, and this little, tiny sign,” recalls Alderson. “They would take a bite, walk out, come back in, and buy everything up.”

Eventually, Crista suggested the obvious, if somewhat daring, next step: Close the deli and reopen as a cookie company.

And just like that, a California cookie sensation was born.

The transition wasn’t without risk. The sisters had invested everything into their deli, and Alderson remembers wondering whether she might need to find another job.

But they believed in their cookies.

They began introducing their products at farmers markets and food and wine events, offering samples and building relationships with customers. Meanwhile, Crista developed a one-page website after working hours, giving their fledgling company a way to reach cookie lovers beyond the Central Coast.

That first Christmas, they hand-rolled and shipped more than 10,000 cookies. The response was enough to convince the sisters they were onto something special.

Crista also had a talent for attracting national attention, reaching out to publications and television programs to introduce their cookies. Soon, Brown Butter Cookie Company was gaining recognition from outlets including Gourmet, The Rachael Ray Show, Los Angeles Times and The New York Times.

More than 18 years later, the business has grown. It is now a recognizable California brand, with retail boutiques, nationwide shipping and a production facility in Atascadero. Yet its success still comes down to the same irresistible combination that first caught customers’ attention: brown butter, brown sugar, vanilla and a touch of sea salt.

“I think the reason that customers respond in such a positive way to our cookies is just the basic ingredients that we use,” says Alderson. “That flavor profile’s kind of classic, reminds them of something from when they were young. It’s haunting and addictive.”

The Secret Is in the Brown Butter

While shortbread cookies are traditionally known for their firm, crumbly texture, Brown Butter Cookie Company’s version takes a slightly different approach.

By combining brown butter with brown sugar, the company creates a tender shortbread with deep, toasted flavors. Then, they add just enough salt to balance the sweetness.

“It’s a bit softer, and it creates this beautiful layered nutty flavor that really makes you wanna keep coming back for more,” explains Jenna Hartzell, the company’s chief operating officer and creative director. Hartzell joined the company after meeting the sisters at an event in 2014. Since then, she has helped shape its creative direction, overseeing operations. She also ensures the brand’s distinctive personality carries through from its storefronts to its packaging and online presence.

The original brown butter sea salt cookie remains a customer favorite. However, the company’s lineup has expanded to include cocoa, pecan and toffee chocolate, featuring homemade toffee coated in Ghirardelli chocolate. The toffee chocolate flavor quickly became the company’s second-best seller. This demonstrates that customers appreciate a little creativity alongside their familiar favorites.

For Alderson and Hartzell, that balance between tradition and innovation has become a defining part of the business.

“So it’s so fun to launch new flavors, and I love to work in the stores ’cause you can see customers come in, they pick up their original, and then they start collecting,” Alderson says. “They love to collect all the flavors.”

A Recipe for Creative Collaboration

As the company has grown, so has its appetite for experimenting with new flavors and partnerships.

Alderson and Hartzell have worked with brands including Firestone and Yes Cocktail Company. They have also participated in major collaboration through the Made with Ghirardelli program. Their expanded production facility has made it possible to pursue more ambitious product development. It allows for pairing the Brown Butter Cookie Company’s signature shortbread with ingredients that bring something unexpected to the table.

“I personally love collaborations and I love the creative energy of it,” Alderson says. “I work really closely with Jenna Hartzell, who’s our creative director and COO, and we tend to really co-create well together.”

Their latest collaboration introduces an especially delicious partnership: California Prunes and Brown Butter Cookie’s Brown Butter Sea Salt Sugar Plum Cookie – a limited time offering.

A New Holiday Tradition, With a California Twist

Brown butter and California Prunes might not be the first pairing that comes to mind when imagining holiday cookies. But according to Alderson, that’s precisely what makes the combination exciting. The rich, caramel-like notes of brown butter create a natural foundation for the deep fruit flavor of prunes. The cinnamon, cardamom and cloves bring the familiar warmth of holiday baking.

“Our base of having that brown butter, brown sugar, and vanilla really is a great carrier for other flavors like dried fruit, like nuts, and spices,” Alderson explains.

In the new Sugar Plum Cookie, prunes take center stage rather than disappearing into the background.

“When you bite into the sugar plum shortbread, it’s like you taste the dried fruit first, it’s fruit forward, then you get a little bit of the crunchiness of the walnuts, which we think is very California, and then you have this warmth of the spices,” says Alderson.

A Sweet Finishing Touch

The finishing touch – a delicate dusting of cranberry sugar and the company’s signature sea salt – makes the cookie even more festive. “All of our shortbread cookies are finished with a touch of sea salt, but this sugar plum cookie gets a kind of a sparkle of cranberry sugar dust that goes on top with the sea salt,” Hartzell explains. The soft pink finish gives the cookies a festive appearance without overshadowing the flavors inside.

For the team, the collaboration is about more than introducing another seasonal product. It’s an opportunity to showcase a familiar California ingredient in an unexpected and delicious way.

“We are so thrilled to be partnering with California Prunes for our new brown butter sea salt sugar plum cookie,” says Hartzell.

The cookies will be available during the holiday season in Brown Butter Cookie Company retail stores and online, with shipping throughout the United States.

More Than Just Cookies

Despite the company’s growth, Alderson says its success isn’t measured solely in cookies sold or new flavors introduced. It’s also about the people behind the brand.

“For me, it’s always been about our team,” she says. “I love the fact that we can make a high-quality product, give a high-quality service, and it’s always been really important to my sister and I that we create a positive work environment.”

That philosophy extends to how the company approaches innovation. Rather than simply chasing trends, Alderson and Hartzell focus on developing flavors that customers genuinely want to experience and share. Through the company’s Cookie Club, devoted fans can even sample potential new creations. Fans can also vote on which flavors might become permanent additions to the lineup.

For Hartzell, the most rewarding part of the business is seeing that creativity translate into something meaningful for customers. “Working with our staff is a joy, and bringing people joy in cookie form is just truly wonderful,” she says. It’s a sentiment that captures the spirit of Brown Butter Cookie Company.

What started with a single tray of cookies in a seaside deli has become a thriving business. It is one built on relationships, curiosity and the simple pleasure of sharing something sweet.

And with its new California Prunes Sugar Plum Cookie, it’s clear that sometimes the best way to honor tradition is to give it a delicious new twist.

After all, great cookies have a way of bringing people back for more.