Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

I am sort of obsessed with making cookies and constantly trying to make more flavours and recipes that just take the cookie to another level. And boy, oh, boy, did I take it to another level with these ones!

The brown butter in this recipe adds the perfect depth of flavour, mixed with the dark chocolate and sweetness of the cookie, it's the perfect combination. You could also call these 48 hour cookies, because it does require some chill time. Quite a lot of chill time actually. But it's SO worth the wait!

When working on this recipe I baked some after only chilling for a few hours, then I baked some after 48 hours of chilling, then some 72 hours of chilling, and then some 100 hours of chilling. And I mean, wow! The flavour was so different with each bake. The chill time allows the flavours to really seep into each other and mature and strengthen. They also come out more chewy with each one, and still have that delicious crisp on the outside. So if you can wait, it'll be well worth it! This will easily be the best brown butter chocolate chip cookie you've ever had!

Brown Butter

Making the brown butter is a lot easier than you would think. But it's important to use real block butter for this as you need all the natural fats that you find in butter, or it just won't come out the same.

Simply place your butter straight from the fridge into a heavy bottom saucepan on a medium -low heat. Stir constantly, as you don't want any of this to burn to the bottom of the pan. Melt it completely, and then keep stirring. It will eventually bubble a bit and then the colour will turn a deep amber colour. It will smell delicious and slightly nutty. And you're done. Transfer to another bowl and set to one side to cool. Then just use as the recipe calls.

You want to make sure all the dark fleck at the bottom are used too as they contain loads of flavour!

Sugar

Most cookie recipes will call for a mixture of soft light brown sugar and either caster or granulated sugar. This recipe, however, only calls for the soft light brown sugar. I wanted this cookie to be super chewy and fudgy in the middle. The chewiest cookie ever,, so you may say! So I opted out of using any white sugar to ensure it has the chewiest centre ever!

Some might ask if they can use dark brown sugar, and for another cookie recipe, I may have said yes, but for this one soft light brown is the best. Because we have the brown butter it will already have an intense flavour and chewy texture anyway, so adding the dark brown sugar would affect the flavour and texture too much. I am however working on a dark brown sugar cookie, so will share that when I have perfected it!

Check out some of my other popular cookie recipes! Click on the picture below!

Chilling the Cookie Dough

I know for a lot of people, seeing that the recipe has 'chill time' is an off put. Rest assured, these cookies can absolutely be baked straight away and will still taste great! But if you want a people pleaser, show stopper cookie, the chill time is essential!

One of the biggest reasons this particular cookie dough wants chill time is because of the browned butter. Melting the butter down rather than creaming it at room temperature means that the cookie is already starting at a warmer temperature when it comes to baking. This will cause the cookie to spread more in the baking process and you'll end up with a thin crispy cookie, rather than a slightly thicker, chewy cookie. And that's not quite what we're going for here. Chilling it means the butter reaches a colder temperature and spreads less in the oven.

Another reason for chilling the dough is to give the ingredients time to get to know each other. One thing flour is good for is soaking up all of the flavours around it. If you bake your cookies right away the ingredients don't have time to mix properly and really get their all out of the taste! Chilling the dough gives the ingredients time to mature together and seep into one another. This ensures that the best flavour is going to come through once baked. And if you really want to impress your friends and family, make these a few days in advance so you can give them the best cookies ever!

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Chocolate

For these cookies I decided to go for 70% dark chocolate for the chocolate chips. I used a bar of chocolate and chopped it up, making sure there were bigger and smaller pieces. I wouldn't normally eat 70% dark chocolate by itself, but mixed with the sweetness in this cookie it balances out perfectly.

For the best tasting cookie, you want the best quality ingredients, and the chocolate chips are one of the most important ingredients in a cookie, so make sure your quality of chocolate is the best.

If you really can't stand the thought of using 70% dark chocolate, you could opt for 65% or even 55%. But definitely go on the darker side rather than milk to get the perfect balance.

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Equipment

Here is a list of recommended equipment I use and where to buy them!

• Kitchen Scales - https://amzn.to/40iSN3D

• Kitchenaid Stand Mixer - https://amzn.to/40h2CiA

• Electric `hand whisk - https://amzn.to/4jliwym

Ingredients

160g browned butter

200g soft light brown sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla

3/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda

215g plain flour

200g dark chocolate chips

Method

1. In a heavy bottom saucepan, add your butter on a medium-low heat and stir constantly until it completely melts down. Keep mixing until the colour turns a deep amber. Take off the heat and transfer to another bowl. Make sure to add all the dark flecks from the bottom of the pan as they hold a lot of flavour. Set aside to cool slightly. It should still be liquid but not boiling hot when you start baking.

2. In the bowl of your stand mixer with the paddle attachment, or with an electric hand whisk, cream the butter and sugar together.

3. Add the egg and once combined add the vanilla and mix until thick and pale. Scrape the bowl down if needed to ensure all is incorporated.

4. Add the flour and bicarb through a sieve and mix until the flour mixture is almost gone.

5. Chop your bar of chocolate and add to the dough and mix until combined. Save a few bits of chocolate to put on the top of each cookie.

6. Using some kitchen scales, measure out 50g balls and press a few of the extra chocolate into the top of each ball. Put in a ziplock bag or airtight container then put in the fridge for 48 hours.

7. Preheat your oven to 170C and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.

8. Add your cookies onto the baking tray leaving a 2-3 inch gap between each one to allow for any spreading.

9. Bake for 7-10 minutes. the edges should be golden and the middle slightly underdone. This ensures a perfectly chewy centre.

10. Leave to cool either completely on the tray or for at least 10 minutes before enjoy warm and gooey! Enjoy!

    
    

    Serving suggestion: Heat a slice in the microwave for 20-30 seconds and enjoy warm with a scoop of your favourite ice-cream.

Additional Tips:

• Make sure all ingredients are room temperature before baking.

• This cake can keep for up to 4 days in an airtight container.

• Sieve all of your dry ingredients.

• Use real block butter for the best taste and texture. This also helps hold the structure of the brookie together.

• Don't leave this in the oven until it looks fully baked as the cooking continues after it comes out the oven and it will be overbaked.