Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Instructions

1. 1

   Brown the butter

   Cut butter into pieces and melt in a light-colored saucepan over medium heat. Swirl occasionally. It'll foam up, then the milk solids at the bottom will turn golden and smell insanely nutty. Takes about 5-7 minutes. The second it smells like toffee, pull it off the heat. Pour into a heatproof bowl and scrape every last brown bit out. Those specks are flavor. Let cool for 15 minutes.

2. 2

   Mix dry ingredients

   Whisk flour, baking soda, and fine sea salt together in a bowl. Set it aside. Yes, this step matters. No, you can't just dump everything in at once.

3. 3

   Make the dough

   Whisk both sugars into the cooled brown butter until smooth and slightly thick. Add eggs one at a time, whisking well after each. Add vanilla. Switch to a spatula and fold in the flour mixture until just combined. You'll see a few streaks of flour and that's fine. Fold in the chocolate chips.

4. 4

   Chill the dough (non-negotiable)

   Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Overnight is even better. I know you want to skip this. Don't. Cold dough spreads less, which means thicker cookies with better texture. Warm dough makes flat, sad discs. You didn't come here for flat, sad discs.

5. 5

   Bake

   Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop 2-tablespoon balls of dough and place them 2 inches apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes until the edges are set and golden but the centers still look slightly underdone and puffy. They'll firm up as they cool. If they look done in the oven, they're overdone.

6. 6

   Finish and try not to eat all of them

   Hit them with flaky sea salt immediately out of the oven. Let cool on the pan for 5 minutes (the hardest 5 minutes of your life), then transfer to a wire rack. The salt-chocolate-brown butter combo is going to make you close your eyes involuntarily. That's normal.

Nutrition

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