As soon as the weather gets cooler, I get the itch to bake all my favorite cookies. There’s something about the smell of cookies baking that is as much a part of fall as pumpkin spice and cinnamon. One of my favorites is a soft, chewy, chocolate chip cookie that is slightly crisp around the edges.
Do you know there are literally hundreds of variations of chocolate chip cookies? Some people swear by shortening, others – butter. Light brown sugar, dark brown sugar, granulated sugar. I’ve tried many, many different ones (and enjoyed them all!). As I test new ingredients, I constantly update my chocolate chip cookie recipe. It’s always been good, but I wanted a cookie that was thick, chocolatey, rich, and decadent. The kind of cookie where you bite into it and it’s SO GOOD that your eyes roll back. Well…I finally did it!
The Secrets to the Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie:
Use good chocolate! The better the chocolate, the better the cookie. This recipe uses both semi-sweet chocolate chips and dark chocolate chips. Chocolate chunks would be great too!
Add a teaspoon of instant espresso. The instant espresso will enhance the rich flavors of the cookies. You won’t taste the coffee flavor at all – it just makes the chocolate flavor pop.
Brown the butter. Brown butter has a wonderful, rich, nutty flavor that perfectly complements the brown sugar and chocolate chips in your cookies.
Chill the dough. When you bake chocolate chip cookies – you want the dough to be chilled first. This will keep your cookies from spreading out too much.
Finish your cookies with a pinch of flaky sea salt. The combination of sweet and salty gives you the perfect amount of umami! You won’t be able to eat just one cookie!
How to Make Ultimate Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Heat butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Whisk constantly. Butter will crackle, then foam. Watch your pan carefully. Within a couple minutes, the butter will turn a golden amber color and give off a nutty aroma. As soon as it turns golden brown, remove from heat. Pour into a medium bowl and let cool for 10-15 minutes until cool enough to handle.
- Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugars until fluffy and well combined. Add in the egg, egg yolk, vanilla, yogurt, and espresso powder. Mix well – approximately 2 minutes.
- In separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Turn mixer on low and gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients until just combined.
- Add semi-sweet and dark chocolate chips and stir until just combined. Don’t overmix.
- Chill dough for 10 minutes.
- Scoop cookie dough onto cookie sheets lined with parchment paper. Use a medium cookie scoop or measure out dough 2 Tbsp. for each cookie. Place 2 inches apart.
- This is important! Chill cookie dough for an additional 2-12 hours in the refrigerator. The brown butter needs time to solidify. If you bake the cookies immediately, they will flatten out and spread all over.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Pull cookie sheets out of the refrigerator and immediately place into the oven.
- Bake the cookies for 9-11 minutes until the edges of the cookies begin to turn golden brown. Cool the cookies on the sheets for 5 minutes to allow for carryover cooking. Sprinkle each with a pinch of flaky sea salt.
- Transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool completely. Makes 24-30 cookies.
Ultimate Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
Ingredients:
- 2 ¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 cup unsalted butter 2 sticks
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk room temperature
- 1 Tbsp. vanilla
- 1 tsp. instant espresso powder
- 1 Tbsp. plain Greek yogurt
- ¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ¾ cup dark chocolate chips
- Flaky sea salt
Instructions
Instructions:
- Heat butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Whisk constantly. Butter will crackle, then foam. Watch your pan carefully. Within a couple minutes, the butter will turn a golden amber color and give off a nutty aroma. As soon as it turns golden brown, remove from heat. Pour into a medium bowl and let cool for 10-15 minutes until cool enough to handle.
- Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugars until fluffy and well combined. Add in the egg, egg yolk, vanilla, yogurt, and espresso powder. Mix well – approximately 2 minutes.
- In separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Turn mixer on low and gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients until just combined.
- Add semi-sweet and dark chocolate chips and stir until just combined. Don’t overmix.
- Chill dough for 10 minutes.
- Scoop cookie dough onto cookie sheets lined with parchment paper. Use a medium cookie scoop or measure out dough 2 Tbsp. for each cookie. Place 2 inches apart.
- This is important! Chill cookie dough for an additional 2-12 hours in the refrigerator. The brown butter needs time to solidify. If you bake the cookies immediately, they will flatten out and spread all over.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Pull cookie sheets out of the refrigerator and immediately place into the oven.
- Bake the cookies for 9-11 minutes until the edges of the cookies begin to turn golden brown. Cool the cookies on the sheets for 5 minutes to allow for carryover cooking. Sprinkle each with a pinch of flaky sea salt.
- Transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool completely. Makes 24-30 cookies.