Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

10 tablespoon (140g) salted butter

1 ½ cups (215g) all-purpose flour (measure accurately or the cookies will spread too much)

½ or ¾ teaspoon baking soda (see notes in FAQ section regarding adjustments for taller cookies)

¼ teaspoon salt

⅔ cup (145g) packed light brown sugar

⅓ cup (65g) granulated sugar

1 teaspoon (5ml) pure vanilla extract

1 large egg at room temperature

1 tablespoon (15ml) milk

½ cup (70g) dark chocolate, coarsely chopped (I also love these bittersweet callets)

½ cup (85g) semisweet chocolate chips or chunks

INSTRUCTIONS

1. First brown the butter. Follow the instructions in this post here to learn how to brown butter. It’s easy! Brown specks and a dense golden foam will form at the surface when it is nearly ready. Pour it out into a clean bowl and let it cool for 10 minutes. This whole process takes around 8-10 minutes. Immediately pour it into a large mixing bowl, then let it cool for 20-30 minutes until it reaches a temperature just warmer than room temperature. If you care to measure, the butter should read 34°C or 93°F on a thermometer. It should not be hot, but it should not be too cool or it will stiffen up when you mix in the other ingredients if it is cold in your kitchen.

2. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl and whisk well to blend evenly.

3. Combine cooled brown butter with both sugars in a large bowl and mix gently to combine. It should look thick like wet sand. You can also mix it in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for 20 seconds.

4. Add the egg, milk and vanilla and mix it in until well incorporated and creamy-looking. Do not beat vigorously at this stage because if it is cold in your house, the butterfat will firm up and become stiff.

5. Add flour mixture and fold it in or mix on low just until mostly combined, then add the chocolate chunks before all of the flour is incorporated and continue mixing until they are evenly distributed. Cover the bowl and refrigerate the dough for 2 hours.

6. Preheat your oven. If you are making large size cookies (1 ½-oz cookie scoop) and following the recipe with ¾ teaspoon baking soda, then preheat your oven to 375°F. If you are making thicker cookies with ½ teaspoon baking soda, then preheat your oven to 350°F. And, if you are making smaller cookies using a 1-oz cookie scoop with either amount of baking soda, then preheat your oven to 350°F. Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper.

7. For the cookies in these photos, I preheated to 375°F. Use a 1 ½-oz cookie scoop to portion dough into 15 pieces and roll into smooth balls. Place them onto prepared baking sheets, spacing them 3 inches apart.

8. Do not flatten. Bake for 8-10 minutes until golden on top, browned around the edges and soft in the middle.

9. Let cookies cool on baking sheet for 2 minutes before carefully transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.

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