You guys. If I were a country singer, at least half of my love ballads would be to chocolate chip cookies. And the other half would be to browned butter. It’s so versatile; I love it on popcorn and pasta. Delicious. Bringing these two loves together is really just pure magic. Simple as that.
Browning the butter is the first step in this and it does take a small amount of time and then a little more time to chill it but it is worth it.
Browning Butter How To:
Start with high quality butter. Whatever that means to you. Any butter will work but I like Tillamook or Irish butter the best. Place your butter in a sauce pan over medium high heat and let it melt. Keep stirring occasionally until the butter starts to foam. This may take a minute so be patient. Once the butter starts to foam, stir constantly. You will see that the milk solids have separated out and they are going to begin to brown. Keep in mind that after you turn the heat off, the butter will still brown slightly so pull it off when it gets golden brown. Let the butter cool in the pan and then place into a bowl and let harden in the fridge until completely solid.
Once the butter is solid, we can get down to business. Cream the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy. This means, beat it longer than you think you should. And then beat for 2 more minutes.
Now, add the eggs one at a time. This helps each egg become fully incorporated in the dough. Add the vanilla and mix until combined. Yum.
Sift in your dry ingredients and mix until just combined. We don’t want to overwork the dough at this point.
Okay, now for the chocolate. I have tried many different types and forms of chocolate all in the name of science. I really like the mix of dark chocolate and milk chocolate though. The bite of dark and the sweetness of the milk chocolate. Mmmmm. The other trick with chocolate that makes this recipe, is chopping chocolate into different sized chunks. I like to buy some chocolate bars and rough chop them. When you chop yourself you end up with some larger chunks and some small little chunks as well. The perfect amount in every bite.
Now you have your dough all ready. If you have the time you can stick your dough in the fridge for a few hours to let the flavors marry. I’ll be honest. I didn’t have the time. My flavors were barely casually dating, they liked each other, there was definitely attraction on both sides, but they certainly had not talked about marriage yet. And you know what? They were delicious.
Now time to scoop. Use a large scoop. Don’t cheat yourself or your friends and family out of a cookie. Place about 2 inches apart on lined baking sheets. These spread a bit so give them some room to discover themselves.
To bake these babies, place into a 375 degrees F preheated oven and bake them for 14 undisturbed minutes. Once they are in the oven, leave the door closed until all 14 minutes are up. (If you used a different size cookie scoop, adjust the time based on the size you make.)
Once the cookies are done, sprinkle them with some flaky sea salt.
Let the cookies cool on a wire rack but definitely sneak one or two and eat them while they are still warm. It will change your life.