Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Brown butter
- 1 cup unsalted butter, 2 sticks
- Dough
- ¾ cup dark brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 ⅛ cups all-purpose flour, 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 8 oz dark or bittersweet chocolate, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
- flaky sea salt, for the tops (optional)
Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Cut the butter into pieces and melt it in a light-colored saucepan over medium heat. Keep swirling the pan as it foams and crackles.
- When the crackling quiets down and the specks on the bottom turn toasty brown and smell nutty, pour it right away into a large heatproof bowl, scraping in all the brown bits.
- Let the butter cool until it is warm but not hot, so it won't cook the eggs.
- Whisk both sugars into the butter for about 30 seconds, then whisk in the egg, yolk and vanilla until the mixture looks glossy and smooth.
- Add the flour, baking soda and kosher salt and stir with a spatula until no dry streaks remain. Fold in the chopped chocolate.
- Cover and chill the dough so it firms up and the cookies don't spread too thin. You can chill it up to 2 days.
- Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and line two sheet pans with parchment. Scoop 3-tablespoon balls, leaving 3 inches between them.
- Bake one pan at a time in the center of the oven until the edges are golden and set and the middles look puffy and slightly underdone.
Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Sprinkle with a little flaky salt while hot, cool on the pan 5 minutes, then move to a rack.