Brown butter chocolate chip cookies
Bigger Bolder Baking with Gemma Stafford · 14 min video
Read about cookies in the BrightCulinary Book
Timestamp
Ingredients
Method
Techniques
- salted butter
Use a shallow, uncoated (not dark) frying pan so the bottom is visible; add the butter over medium-low heat and do not walk away.
Pan and heat for browning butter
When it foams and simmers, stir gently with a spatula, getting the bottom and sides so the milk solids do not burn and turn bitter.
As the foam darkens to golden, turn the heat down; when the foam dies down, it smells nutty and toasted and the solids underneath are golden brown, pour it into a bowl to stop the cooking. A heavy pan keeps cooking off the heat.
Judging the perfect stage
Burnt stage (shown back in the pan): the solids go from brown to almost black within seconds, smoke appears, and it tastes smoky, gritty and burnt; unusable.
From perfect to burnt
- dark brown sugar
- white sugar
- salt
Put the cooled (not hot) brown butter in a bowl; add dark brown sugar, a little white sugar and the salt and mix.
Brown butter, sugars and salt
- 1 whole room temperature egg
- vanilla extract
Add the room temperature egg and vanilla extract and mix until no brown sugar lumps remain.
Egg, vanilla and baking soda
- baking soda
- flour
- bittersweet chocolate
Mix baking soda into the flour and add to the batter; then mix in chopped bittersweet chocolate.
Chill about 30 minutes so the fat solidifies; optionally age the scooped dough in the fridge up to three days, or freeze the balls.
Scoop around two tablespoons per cookie, roll into balls with chocolate chunks toward the top, and press loose chocolate bits on top.
Bake two trays with fan assist at 350F for around eight to ten minutes (one tray: 375F, same time); take them out a little early when the centres are just set.
Variation: brown butter can be made ahead and refrigerated, or made in a microwave-safe bowl in increments, whisking between, until golden brown; slightly burnt butter can be passed through a coffee filter to discard the burnt solids.