Brown butter chocolate chip cookies

I have been on a journey to create a classic chocolate chip cookie recipe that satisfies all of my texture, taste, and emotional requirements. I've finally gotten there and I'm SO excited to share it! These brown butter chocolate chip cookies are my absolute favorite, and when you make them you'll see why I always have the dough in my freezer.

There are a lot of chocolate chip cookie recipes out there (I know, because I've baked lots of them) and there are some that stand out from the pack. I've taken elements I love most from my favorite recipes, added some twists of my own, and after testing the baking time and temperature, it's time to share the beauty of this recipe.

You'll notice there is both a chilling period and a freezing period. I know it sounds excessive, but I promise you that the end result is worth it. That's another reason this recipe makes about 20 cookies, larger than my other recipes. It's perfect for storing dough in the freezer so that you can have the best chocolate chip cookie whenever a craving strikes! It's also the perfect recipe to share with loved ones, and makes enough so that you'll still have some to enjoy yourself.

Some things before we start:

• Brown butter: Butter is great in all forms, but especially so when it's browned. To brown your butter, you'll melt it in a pot or pan on low to medium heat. After it melts, it will begin to crackle. Continue to stir and watch your butter carefully. You'll start to smell a nutty aroma (you'll know it when it happens). Once you see the color turn to a light brown or amber, remove your pan from the heat and transfer your butter into a heat proof bowl (make sure to get all of the brown bits at the bottom!).

• Bread flour: If you don't think you'll be making cookies often, it's okay to skip this and swap in all purpose flour for your second cup of flour. It does add to the chewy texture of the cookie, but it will be okay without it if you want to avoid another trip to the store.

• Chocolate: I love using half chopped semisweet chocolate and half Super Cookie Chocolate Chips from Guittard. The super cookie chips are truly the perfect size for any chocolate chip cookie recipe, and make it easy to get the perfect chocolate melt in your cookies. The combo of them and chopped chocolate is just incredible. I wouldn't suggest using standard chocolate chips because they don't melt quite as nicely, but in a pinch really any chocolate can work.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all purpose flour 120g

• 1 cup bread flour120g

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 3/4 teaspoon salt

• 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter 226g

• 1 cup brown sugar 192g

• 1/2 cup sugar 96g

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 2 eggs

• 1 egg yolk

• 10 Oz (a little less than two cups) semisweet chocolate 280g

Total time: 8-24 hours including chill and freeze time

Prep time: About 20 minutes

Bake time: 16-19 minutes

Cooking instructions:

Brown your butter. Place both sticks of butter in a pot or pan (I recommend using a nonstick heavy bottomed pot) on the stovetop on a low to medium heat. After it melts, you'll hear it begin to crackle. Stir the melted butter and watch it carefully as it can burn easily. You'll start to smell a nutty aroma (you'll know it when it happens). Once you see the color turn to a light brown or amber, remove your pan from the heat and transfer your butter and all of the brown bits at the bottom into a large, heat proof bowl. Set aside to cool slightly.

In a medium bowl, combine both cups of flour, baking soda and salt.

Add your brown and granulated sugar to your browned butter. Stir together to help further cool your butter and to fully combine your sugar into the butter. Mix in your vanilla extract.

In a separate small bowl, crack two eggs and add an additional egg yolk. Add one egg at a time to your butter and sugar mixture. Note: before doing this, if your butter and sugar mixture feels too warm, you can place it in the fridge for about 5 minutes before combining to avoid scrambled egg cookies :)

Add your flour mixture into your butter mixture in three rounds. Stir in your chocolate chips and ensure they are evenly distributed. Cover your cookie dough and place in the fridge for at least two hours.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Remove the dough from your fridge and use a large cookie scoop to portion out your dough (it should make about 20 cookies) and place the portioned dough onto your lined cookie sheet. Cover your cookie sheet and place into the freezer for a minimum of 6 hours - I usually do this overnight to get a full 20-24 hours!

Once your dough is frozen, you can transfer it all into a more space friendly container (I typically use a plastic bag but Tupperware would work great as well).

When you're ready to bake some or all of your dough, preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Space your frozen dough onto a lined cookie sheet (I use parchment paper). Bake for 16-19 minutes. Remove your cookie sheet from the oven. Allow your cookies to cool, and enjoy!

Additional cooking and storing information:

If you bake the whole batch at once, you can store the baked cookies in an airtight container once cooled for about 3 days. I cannot emphasize enough how much I recommend keeping the dough frozen and baking the amount you want to eat that night or day, because you just cannot beat the experience of fresh baked cookies. I have eaten one a day later though, and it still does taste delicious.

If you like a thicker cookie, you can bake instead from frozen at 350 for 16-18 minutes. You can even try both out and see what you like best! I tried both methods, and felt that the 325 temperature led to a better bake and texture, but both work well.

Also, I don't suggest it, BUT if you can't wait and want to bake some once they've chilled rather than waiting until your dough is frozen, you can bake once chilled at 350 degrees and I would start at 13 minutes and check from there!

Carb and serving info: Servings: 20 cookies

Carbs per serving: 32.9

Carbs for full recipe: 657.8

Carbs from chocolate: 171 (adjust this if you use a different type of chocolate!)

Note: Carb information is calculated based on the specific ingredients I used to cook with to help guide my own insulin to carb ratio when dosing before I eat my home cooked recipes.