Yesterday my sister-in-law sent me a link to a chocolate chip cookie recipe. “Thought you should know about this,” she texted. Now, if I’m being totally honest, I’m always a little skeptical when it comes to a link to an unfamiliar chocolate chip cookie recipe. I love my original chocolate chip cookie recipe so so so much, that I nervously proclaimed, “It’s good to try something new, right!” just to help convince myself that I’m allowed to step out of my chocolate chip cookie comfort zone every once in a while. That’s how you grow, and that’s how you learn. You have to do what scares you sometimes.
As hesitant as I initially was to give The Food Lab’s Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe a try, I took one look at the recipe and saw that what makes these cookies stand out was the use of browned butter. I could almost smell the nutty aroma of the simmering browned butter I was going to cook up as I robotically reached into the fridge for a couple of sticks of the good stuff. I had decided to give it a go. My Thursday could use a little cookie excitement anyway.
While these cookies are pretty similar to ones on The Food Lab, instead of using semi-sweet chocolate chunks, I used some chopped up Dove dark chocolate that I had lying around, and some milk chocolate from Munson’s, a Connecticut chocolatier down the road from my childhood home, whose chocolate is arguably the best I’ve ever tasted. I also used light brown sugar (I didn’t have any dark and I can’t really ever tell the difference), increased the amount of baking soda (I like my cookies THICC), and waited until my butter became foamy and sizzly before removing it off the stove rather than only browning it only for five minutes. Once the sizzles stop and your butter is all foamed up, the smell alone will tell you it’s done. Your kitchen will be filled with swirled scents of, caramelly butter with notes of toffee.
So, if you’re anything like myself, and you’ve been making the same chocolate chip cookie recipe for the last 10 years, I think it’s time to shake things up a little bit with some perfectly-browned butter, chocolate chunks, and sea salt.
Browned Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies with Sea Salt
Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp light brown sugar
- 2 cups chocolate chunks milk, dark or semi sweets, plus more for sprinkling on top if desired
- pinch sea salt
Instructions
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To make the browned butter, melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir constantly, until the butter starts to foam up. You should hear it sizzling as the flavor begins to smell very nutty (almost like caramel or toffee). Once the butter looks foamy and you no longer hear it sizzling, remove from heat and continue to stir. The butter should look a deep, dark, golden brown color. Put the mixture in a bowl and stick it in the fridge for about 30-40 minutes, until the butter starts to cool and thicken back up.
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While the butter is cooling, Preheat your oven to 325°F and line a couple of baking sheets with silicon baking mats or spray with cooking spray. Set aside.
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In a large bowl, use an electric mixture to whisk together the granulated sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract for a few minutes, until it looks white and creamy. In a separate bowl, combine together the flour, baking soda and salt.
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Once the browned butter has cooled, mix it into the sugar/egg/vanilla mixture, along with the brown sugar, until just combined. Add in the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chunks, reserving some for the top of the cookies, if desired.
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Use a cookie scoop or rounded spoon to scoop cookie dough onto baking sheets. Bake for 16 minutes, rotating the pans in the oven half way through baking. When you take the cookies out of the oven, top with remaining chocolate chunks, if desired, and some coarse sea salt. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Recipe adapted from The Food Lab's Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe