Pineapple Upside-Down Cookies

Instructions

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1. 1 Place butter in a light-colored saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until butter smells nutty and has turned an amber color, 5 to 7 minutes. Pour browned butter into a large mixing bowl, and set aside to cool.
2. 2 Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
3. 3 Mix 3 tablespoons brown sugar and cornstarch together in a small bowl. Dredge each pineapple slice in the cornstarch mixture, making sure both sides of each slice are well coated, then place onto the prepared baking sheets (6 pineapple slices per baking sheet, spaced several inches apart).
4. 4 Bake pineapple slices in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Keep the oven on at 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
5. 5 To the mixing bowl with brown butter, add remaining 3/4 cup brown sugar, white sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, egg yolk, pineapple juice, and vanilla, and whisk until thoroughly smooth and combined, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add flour, baking soda, and baking powder and stir until incorporated; using your hands if needed to mix it in completely. Dough will be thick, and seem somewhat dry.
6. 6 Divide dough into 12 pieces and roll into balls, about 2 tablespoons each. If dough breaks apart, just keep pressing it back together as much as needed until it holds its shape. Flatten each ball into a disc about 1/2-inch thick; again, press dough back together as needed if it breaks.
7. 7 Place a maraschino cherry half in the center of each one of the pineapple slices. Top each pineapple slice with a disc of dough, pressing down slightly to adhere.
8. 8 Bake 1 pan at a time in the preheated oven until golden brown and appear mostly set, 13 to 17 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow cookies to cool for 15 minutes on the pan, then carefully flip over onto a cooling rack to cool completely. Store extra cookies in the refrigerator to prevent them from getting soggy.